Solace
by countess81
Summary: **ENDING POSTED APRIL 28 2003** The Sequel to Language of Longing
1. Parts 1 through 4

**Title:** "Solace" (The sequel to "The Language of Longing")   
**Author:** Meredith (roswelldreamer@aol.com)   
**Category:** M/L   
**Rating:** PG-13   
**Disclaimer: **Roswell doesn't belong to me... how many times can I say that with a straight face? :) However, the next generation of the Pod Squad, including Lauren Valenti, are mine g>   
**Summary:** Adam-Michael begins having premonitions of his birth mother, Tess Harding, and this causes a gargantuan amount of distress in the seemingly perfect Evans family.   
**Author's Note:** Ten years after "Language.." ended. Baby Jordana is now ten, and Adam-Michael is fifteen years old. All six of the original "Pod Squad" and their offspring are back home, raising their families in Roswell.   
**Dedication:** To anyone who enjoyed "the Language of Longing"~ I don't know if I can live up to that story, but I'm going to try like hell. You guys deserve it.   
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**solace**_n_ : to console, to make cheerful, to soothe, to comfort in sorrow.   
A source of relief or consolation....   


Stiffening his body against the cold, desert night air, Adam-Michael Evans wrapped a large blue quilt around his tall, thin frame as he walked out on to the porch of his house. He loved this time of night. It was so peaceful. The air was so still that he swore he couldn't even feel himself taking breaths. He sighed, taking in a deep, cleansing breath and thinking about his angel. Her long blonde hair shimmered in the hot New Mexico sun and her dark tan and sparce freckles only enhanced the crisp blue light that radiated from her eyes.   
He loved everything about Lauren Michelle Valenti. He even loved the way her full name rolled smoothly off his tongue, like the words were meant to come only from his lips. He adored her laugh. She had the giddiest, most infectious laugh of anyone he'd ever known- even sweeter than his mother's. He often thought about what it would be like to hold Lauren's tiny, delicate body, run his fingers through her locks of gold, kiss her soft pink lips...   
A gust of wind suddenly blew on his face, tingling every inch of his exposed skin and making him shudder. It wasn't until moments later that he realized why he had *really* shuddered. It wasn't because of the chill coming across his body, but of something more sinister.   
Something- someone- was near, he could feel it. Because he was a full-blooded alien, he could feel things that no one else in his family could feel. He often had premonitions- feelings of things that were going to happen. He had visions, he could sense them. He even knew that his mom was pregnant before she did. The aliens and their children had a mental connection that no one else could understand.   
He shook his head, disbelieving what he was feeling- he shoved the ghost of her further and further back into his subconscious. If he forgot about her, maybe she would just leave him alone.   
Maybe he would stop shivering.   
He pulled the quilt tighter around his body, trying in vain to stop the floods of images crashing into his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and whispered softly, his voice carrying through the still air.   
"No."   
And with that one word, the images ceased their assault on his senses. He opened his eyes in relief and picked his body up to go back inside to his bedroom. It was 2 AM and his mom was probably awake. She always made him feel better.   
As his feet hit the wood of the porch and his body turned in the direction of the house, a gust of wind blew behind him, taking the quilt off his body. He turned around to blame in vain the wind who pulled his safety blanket off his skin.   
For a brief moment, he thought he saw her standing right in front of him. As real and as alive as his mother, his father, his sister, Lauren...he shut his eyes, willing her to leave him.   
"Adam..." He barely heard a whisper carrying through the wind and into his ears, which were prominent and adorable, just like his father's. His eyes grew big when he opened his big brown eyes and saw that the vision, the eerie feeling, they'd all vanished into the starry desert night.

  


Liz Parker Evans moaned as she heard her three alarm clocks going off simultaneously. The one next to her bed was easy to shut off- it read "2:00 AM" in a jumble of bright green pixels. The other two alarm clocks, however, were not as easy to silence.   
The perfectly-in-tune squealing of her twin baby boys, Matthew and Dylan, echoed through the hallway and into the bedroom she shared with her husband of ten years, Max Evans. Matty and Dylan were prime for their late-night snack and they weren't quieting down until they got what they wanted. She and Max often joked that even at the tender age of eight weeks, the boys knew exactly what tactics to use to get Mom and Dad's attention: two blood-curdling wails got noticed a lot faster than just one lonely scream.   
They had a double-team advantage over Max and Liz, but as far as they were concerned, Matty and Dylan were their little princes and they couldn't be happier.   
Liz rubbed her sleep-deprived eyes as her husband, who was competing for the title of Mr. Wonderful, grabbed her hand, trying to stop her from rolling out of their bed.   
"I'll go..." He said, his eyes swollen shut from sleep, his voice barely above a growl.   
"No, hon. It's fine. They need their Mommy, and unless you grow breasts in the next five minutes..." She began, smiling and climbing out of their bed. She reached down to the floor, searching in the dark for her crimson satin robe. She finally found it and wrapped it around he body.   
Max laughed and yawned. "Well, I can do a lot of things, but grow breasts, I cannot." He smiled as she leaned down to the bed and kissed his forehead.   
"Now go to sleep. You have the early shift in the morning." Liz instructed him.   
"Nope, I'm not sleeping until you're back here." He patted the empty space in the bed next to him.   
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, shut up. How'd you get so damn wonderful?"   
"Hey, I'm a 33-year-old boy scout. Sue me." Max said.   
Liz took one last look at Max's face as it a sliver of moonlight danced through the window and into the room, finding the most perfect spot to light up his eyes. She walked down the hall, past her ten-year-old daughter Jordana's room, and into the nursery. The babies were still going at it, wailing like it was going out of style or something. She smiled as she saw little Matty lying on his back, kicking his tiny arms and legs around furiously in his crib. She picked him up and he immediately stopped crying. "Hello, my little prince." She said quietly, kissing the top of his head full of soft, jet-black hair. She walked over to the crib on the other side of the room and found his younger-by two minutes- brother, Dylan, and picked him up, his cries immediately ceasing as well. She kissed and stroked their soft heads and walked with them carefully over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Before sitting down, she used her foot to kick off a rattle that had been laid in the chair. Since she had a baby on each arm, she wasn't able to pick it up and move it. She carefully sat down with Matthew on one arm and Dylan on the other. "Time for your snack, boys." She said as she undid her robe and they began eating. She rocked them quietly, closing her eyes and humming a lullaby to them.   
Matthew Phillip and Dylan Jeffrey Evans had been born only two months before, and Liz thanked God every day that she was able to have them at all. They were doubly special- double in that they were twins, and also that for a long time, she and Max thought they'd never be able to hold a baby of their own in their arms again.   
* * * * *   
Adam-Michael walked past his room and saw that the door to his parents' room was cracked open slightly. He poked his head in and he heard his father's familiar sleepy growl.   
"What's the matter, Adam?" He asked, his back to the door and a pillow covering his head.   
Adam-Michael paused. His dad seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and it annoyed the hell out of him. "Nothing." He whispered.   
"You want to talk about it?"   
"I said it was nothing." Adam repeated firmly.   
"If it's nothing, why are you up at..." Max began, opening his sleep covered eyes and peering over at the clock. "...2:11 AM?" Adam-Michael hesitated, not knowing what to say to his father. _*Hey Dad, I saw my dead mother tonight...*_ That wouldn't fly too well at 2 AM.   
"Sorry I woke you, Dad... see you tomorrow." He said quietly, shutting the door behind him before Max had a chance to reply.   
"Adam..." Max said, groaning into the pillow. He loved his son with everything he had, but Adam at fifteen was really trying his patience.   
As he headed towards his room, he noticed the light was on in his baby brothers' room. His mother was giving them their two o'clock feeding like she had done every night since they were born. He decided to peek in and say hello. Hearing her calm voice singing Matty and Dylan back to sleep was enough to make him relaxed enough to fall asleep once again with ease.   
Liz looked up instinctively as the door to the nursery swung open with a slight squeak. Adam-Michael flinched slightly as he heard the squeak, not wanting to distract the babies from their feeding. Luckily, they were falling back to sleep as they ate and didn't notice the extra noise. Liz smiled as her son tiptoed in the room and grabbed a pillow from the floor and leaned against it.   
"Hey Mom." He whispered.   
"Hi, sweetie. What are you doing up so late?" She asked, smiling and rocking the babies as they ate.   
Adam-Michael curved his mouth into a pensive look and yawned. "I had a bad dream, nothing big. I just can't go back to sleep now that I'm up."   
"Aww, I'm sorry honey. Do you want to talk about it?" Liz asked, remembering when she was pregnant with Jordana and both she and Adam constantly dreamed about the baby growing inside of her as well as of Adam's birth mother, Tess Harding.   
Adam-Michael sighed, shaking his head. "Naw, I don't really remember it now." He was lying through his teeth and his mom knew it. She was too tired to interrogate him so she just left him alone. She smiled as she leaned her face down to the side of Matthew's head resting against her breast, taking in the scent of his sweet perfume. She kissed the side of Dylan's head, which was covered in soft brown hair. She absolutely adored her baby boys and would hold them all day if she could. But with her career, this wish was impossible. She had fufilled her dream in becoming a doctor.   
* * * * *

Max's father, Phillip Evans, had died two years before, when Adam-Michael was thirteen and Jordana was just eight years old. He had owned a great deal of stocks and mutual funds and had left all the money from them to his two children, Max and Isabel, and their growing families. Phillip was so proud of Max for fufilling his dream of becoming a doctor that he did everything he could to jumpstart his son's career. He left Max and Liz $100,000 to start up their own private Obstetrics practice. They had accepted the money, and along with one other OB/GYN, started the Evans Family Clinic. The clinic has been up and running for about a year and a half and is run through Roswell Memorial Hospital. Liz and Max, along with their associate, Dr. Richard Larkin, deliver about fifty babies a week. They love the flexibility of their schedules and although they are busy, they always make time for their own children, especially the twins, who realistically, should have never been born...   
After Jordana was born, Max and Liz returned to Boston University's medical school and breezed through with babysitting help from their family and friends. They decided to wait until after they were finished with med school and into their residencies before they would try to have another baby. They figured it would be easy for Liz to get pregnant, considering they had no problem with their first child.   
They were wrong.   
Over a year passed and Liz was still not pregnant. Max wanted her to see a doctor, but was afraid of what he might tell them...they both knew deep down inside of them that something was wrong, but it broke their hearts when the doctor told them that Liz would never again be able to carry a child. He had examined her throughly and had discovered that Liz's womb had been severely damaged by an infection. He couldn't say what it was or what had caused it. In fact, he told Max and Liz that in his thirty years of practicing medicine, he'd never seen anything like it.   
Liz and Max were devastated.   
The doctor's voice echoed through their minds for days after the visit... "in my thirty years of practicing medicine... I've never seen anything like this..." That's when they realized that the infection wasn't an infection at all.   
It was Nasedo.   
When he touched a pregnant Liz that day in their Philosophy class, he'd done something to her, something more damaging than they ever knew at the time. That's when Max decided to try his hand at healing his wife for the third time in their lives. If an alien caused this damage, an alien might be able to fix it... healing and prayer were the two words that filled their lives for the next few weeks. And finally, their wish was granted- Liz was pregnant with two healthy baby boys.   
The pregnancy was a breeze compared to the exquisite hell Liz went through while carrying Jordana. Tess and Nasedo were long gone, and the only dreams Liz had while pregnant with the boys were sweet ones with two babies nestled on top of fluffy white clouds and all that good stuff.   
Liz smiled as she looked up from her twins and over at her teenaged son. Although she hadn't given birth to Adam-Michael, he was hers as far as she was concerned. They even renamed him Adam-Michael Parker Evans after she and Max got married. She loved him with all her heart but there was always this mysterious side she would never understand- his alien side. Being raised by Tess and Nasedo the first five years of his life had had lasting effects on him. He had enormous powers that none of the other children had. Being a full alien, he was capable of every power that Max, Isabel, and Michael possessed, but to an even higher degree because his birth mother was an alien as well.   
Adam-Michael shut his eyelids, which were heavy with sleep.   
The voice assaulted him again, echoing through his head in stereo.   
_ *"Adam-Michael... my baby..."*_   
The voice rattled in his brain with the velocity of a Mack truck. He moved swiftly, jumping up from the soft carpet he was lying on and pounding his body into the side of Dylan's crib.   
Liz screamed. "Adam!" She picked up the babies and ran over to him as he flailed about the room, arms flying in all directions. She tried to reach out a hand to comfort him, but it was quickly returned back to her. She touched the side of his face and he looked into her eyes. "Adam, what is the matter?" She cried. The babies were screaming now. Liz struggled to place them in their cribs so she could wrap her arms around her oldest son. They continued their totally in sync crying as Adam-Michael fell into Liz's arms. He was at least six inches taller than her and his thin body fell over her shoulders like a rag doll.   
"It's her, Mom..." He managed to choke out through sobs.   
"Who? Who is it?" Liz asked, searching in his crystal brown orbs for an answer.   
Adam-Michael paused, not believing the words as they escaped his lips.   
"My mother..."   
Liz's eyes grew wide with fear.   
"Tess?" She managed to whisper out right before a gust of wind blew through the nursery, shutting the doors closed with a loud bang. Adam-Michael held Liz's stunned glance until another shriek pierced the air. This scream wasn't coming from Matty or Dylan either...   
It was coming from Jordana's room.

* * * *

"MOM! DAD!" The scream pierced through the walls of the quiet house.   
"Jordana!" Liz cried, taking off like a rocket out of the boys' room into her daughter's. Max had already bolted out of his sleep when he heard the small girl's scream for help echoed down the hallway into his own bedroom. Adam-Michael quickly followed his parents into her room and were disturbed to find Jordana clutching a small pillow to her chest and cowering in the corner of her room. Liz and Max ran to her, flinging their arms around their first born.   
"Honey, it's all right." Max said, holding his daughter protectively.   
"We're here now, it's okay, everything's going to be okay..." Liz said soothingly, patting Jordana's long chocolate-brown hair that cascaded down her back just like Liz's own.   
"Mom, Dad, it was so scary... I thought there was..." Jordana said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand and raising her hand towards an open window.   
"You thought what, honey?" Max asked her.   
Jordana began saying something, but Adam-Michael walked in, holding a baby in each arm.   
"You thought there was...someone there, didn't you?" Adam asked as he looked straight into his sister's tear-filled eyes. Jordana looked at him and quietly gasped. Without a word, she nodded slowly in agreement.   
"Someone there? What are you getting at...?" Max asked his eldest son, confused. He walked over and took a fussy Dylan out of Adam-Michael's arms and held him close to his chest.   
Liz saw where this conversation was going and quickly stepped in. "It's nothing! Right, Adam-Michael?" She began, stealing a look of concern at the teenager. "It's just really windy out there tonight. She probably just saw a tree moving... that's all, just a tree, a tree..." Liz repeated to herself as she helped her daughter climb back into bed. She seemed to be trying to put her own worries at ease more than her child's. Adam-Michael realized that now was not the time to tell his father what he had experienced that night.   
Max witnessed the wordless exchange between his son and his wife and he knew something was not right. The warm newborn in his hands brought him back to reality as he wailed in his arms."Well, if everything's okay here, we really should get the boys back to bed... come on, Adam, you can help me..."   
Adam-Michael, still holding his baby brother Matthew, looked up at his father, who was now only a couple of inches taller than him. "Okay, Dad." He walked over to Jordana and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, short-stuff."   
"Don't call me that! Goodnight." Jordana said, smiling up at the big brother who she adored. Liz wrapped her arms around her son and gave the baby another kiss on the forehead.   
"Goodnight, Adam." She said, giving him a look that said "Don't breathe a word of this to your father." Adam nodded in agreement as Liz rubbed the back of Matthew's head. "Goodnight my sweet baby boy, Matty. I love you." She kissed her daughter's head and sat on the bed next to her as Max and Adam left the room with the two babies. "Honey, are you going to be okay? Do you want me to stay in here until you fall asleep?"   
Jordana yawned. "No, Mommy, it's okay. I'll be okay. You have to get up early."   
"I'll make your lunch before I go. Is peanut butter and jelly okay?"   
"Yeah that's fine, Mom. Goodnight."   
"I love you, Jordibelle." Liz said, hugging her daughter.   
"I love you too, Mom." Liz walked out of the room and shut the door as Jordana snuggled into her covers once again. As her mother left her once again, she felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She sat up in bed with a jolt as she heard another gust of wind outside the window. She turned on the lamp next to her bed and looked cautiously over to the window. At first, she only saw her own reflection. But as her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a ghostly silhouette staring at her from a nearby tree outside. She could feel the vision's eyes pouring into her own. The sight made her shudder. She was so frightened that she ran over to the window and pulled the shade down tight. Still not feeling much safer, she turned off the light and buried herself under a mountain of sheets, pillows, and blankets that hid her from whatever she was so frightened of...if only she knew what it was.

* * * * *

"Good morning, Gina, Good morning, Joan..." Max said, walking into the office he shared with his wife as well as their associate, Dr. Richard Larkin. "...when's my first appointment?" He walked behind the desk to bring breakfast to his two secretaries like he and Liz did every morning.   
"Good morning, Dr. Evans... Your first appointment is in the waiting room as we speak." Joan replied.   
"How long has she been waiting?" Max asked with concern on his face.   
"Oh, not long, she was just eager to get her first ultrasound..." Gina said, pulling up a file on the computer for Max to see. "Um, her name is...Theresa Bingham. She's about twenty weeks."   
"Ok, just pull up her chart and take her to room three for the check up. I'll be in there in about ten minutes." Max said, walking into his back office.   
"Sure thing, Dr. Evans." Gina piped in.   
Max yawned and reached over the top of his desk, looking for a pen. When he finally found one in the top drawer, he opened up the closet door in his office and pulled out the lab coat and stethoscope stored inside. He pulled those on over his clothes and made his way into exam room three. "Good morning, Ms. Bingham." Max said with a cheerful smile to the pregnant woman lying on the exam table in front of him. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Dr. Max Evans."   
Theresa smiled, shaking his hand and looking deep into his brown eyes. "Hello, Dr. Evans. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard wonderful things about you."   
"Oh, stop it, you're going to give me a big head." Max said, laughing as he put the stethoscope to Theresa's chest, feeling for her heartbeat. "So how are you feeling today, Ms. Bingham?"   
"Please, call me Theresa. And I'm feeling great. The second trimester has been a breeze so far, compared to the hell I went through the first three months..."   
Max smiled. "That's normal...it's typical for mothers to enjoy the second trimester much more... not as much nausea and cramping, that sort of thing."   
Theresa smiled as Max pulled her shirt up halfway to reveal her pertruding belly. "Well that's a relief."   
Max smiled, using his foot to wheel the ultrasound cart over to the table and flipping on the equipment. The monitor hummed as it warmed up. Max grabbed the camera-like piece of equipment and placed it on top of his patient's belly. "So, do you want to know what the sex is?"   
Theresa smiled. "No, I want to be surprised. I just want to make sure the baby's okay...you know, ten fingers, ten toes, that sort of thing..."   
"Yeah, that's important..." Max said, smiling, as he watched the baby on the monitor.   
"Yeah, I don't want an alien baby!" Theresa said, laughing oddly. Max's eyes narrowed into an somewhat suspicious glance. He couldn't help it- any mention of aliens around him, no matter how innocent, made him uneasy. Theresa gasped as a fuzzy black and white image came up on the monitor. "Is that my baby?"   
Max pointed to several spots on the monitor as he pointed out body parts on the fetus. "Everything appears to be normal... you sure you don't want to know the sex?" He asked her again as he noticed the key defining characteristic of the child on the monitor.   
Theresa hesitated, then a smile spread slowly across her face. "Sure, why not!"   
"Ok, you're having a boy." Max said, smiling, pointing to a little speck on the monitor.   
Theresa giggled. "Is that...?"   
"Yes, yes it is." Max said, smiling.   
Theresa's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, I'm so happy..." She smiled.   
"You want me to print out his first picture for you?" Max asked, motioning to the printing device attached to the ultrasound.   
"That would be great!" Theresa said, smiling. Max printed out two pictures for to take home.   
"There's one for you, and one for your husband..."   
"Oh, I don't have a husband." Theresa said quickly.   
"Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to..." Max began, embarrassed, but was interrupted by his patient.   
"No, it's okay!" Theresa said, smiling. "I don't mind. You didn't know." There was an uncomfortable pause in the room as Max handed her the pictures. Their hands touched for a moment and Max snapped his back as he felt an electrical charge go through their touch. He looked into her eyes for a moment and felt a chill go down his spine.   
"Have we met..." He stuttered out. "...before? Your eyes..."   
Theresa smiled. "I don't think so, Dr. Evans."   
Max couldn't control the words coming out of his mouth. "You just...your eyes are so...familiar...are you sure we haven't...?"   
Theresa nodded. "Not that I know of, Dr. Evans. Maybe we knew each other in a past life or something..." She said, laughing at the ridiculous notion. Max looked into her eyes one last time before diverting his gaze to a nearby chart. This odd feeling was just too much for him to handle.   
"Well, Theresa..." He managed to stutter out. "I think we're all finished here today. If you see Gina and Joan out front they'll schedule your next appointment in four weeks." Max said. "Congraulations again." He hurried out of the room, leaving Theresa in a daze.   
She laid her head back on the exam table with a smile. She fished in her purse, looking for her wallet. Tucked inside, between credit card receipts and a little bit of cash was a picture of a young boy. The corners were worn and the picture was becoming faded with time. She rubbed her fingers over the picture of the boy, his dark hair, his dark eyes, his wide smile...   
"Got ya." She said to herself with a smirk.   
* * * *   


"EVAN MAXWELL GUERIN! GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW, BUDDY!" Maria Guerin screamed at the top of her lungs, clutching a small toy car in one hand and the small hand of her three-year-old daughter in the other. She then heard the footsteps of her eight-year-old son padding down the hallway into the living room.   
"What, Mom?" The sandy blonde-haired boy said with his arms crossed and a pout on his face.   
"You *know* what. Did you throw this at your sister?" Maria said sternly, thrusting the small car in his hand.   
Evan smirked into the face he inherited from his father. "She's lying." He said calmly.   
"Mommy, he HIT ME WITH THAT!" Parker Marie Guerin squealed at the top of her lungs, stomping her feet in frustration. Her wavy blonde hair bounced on top of her head in time with her movements.   
"Mom, I didn't hit her! I swear!" Evan cried. "I've been in my room playing on the computer the whole time!"

Maria sighed as she looked from her son's shocked face to her daughter's angered one. She often found herself in this situation. Parker was at the age where she needed a lot of attention and it seemed between working a full time job and trying to take care of the house, Maria wasn't around enough to give it to her. "Parker, sweetie. I'm sorry you were hurt. Please stop crying, okay honey? Evan, you can go back to your room, okay? Just stay away from her." Parker sniffed back tears and wiped her wet face with the back of her hand.   
Evan's eyes narrowed into an angered glance. "You always take her side!" He screamed, running into his room and slamming the door behind him.   
"Evan! Wait!" She cried behind him. Maria sat with her face in her hands, trying hard not to cry. Parker wrapped her tiny arms around her mother and rubbed her arm.   
"Mommy, don't cry. I'm sorry if I made you cry." She said quietly. Maria turned to her daughter and planted a big kiss on her cheek.   
"Come on, shorty. You want to help me start dinner?" Maria said, grabbing her daughter's hand and leading her into the nearby kitchen.   
"Okay, Mommy. When's Daddy coming home?" Parker said, taking a seat at the kitchen table while Maria began pulling items from the cabinets.   
"In a little while, honey. He had to work late today." Michael had gotten a job working for an architect outside of Roswell. His art skills helped him land a job which allowed him to work with teams of other designers on houses and other buildings. He had plans to open up his own office in Roswell so he could be closer to his family. Maria and Isabel owned their own clothing and home furnishings store called Perfectly Alienated. It was on the main street of Roswell, right next to the Crashdown Cafe, which the Parker family still owned, and across from the UFO Center, where crazy Milton was still the manager. Michael had helped with the design of the store, which Maria and Isabel featured their own line of clothing which they call _"Mimmal"_. It's a funny name for a line of clothing, but it was special to them. _"Mimmal" _stands for _"Maria, Isabel, Max, Michael, Alex, and Liz."_ With Maria and Isabel each contributing their unique styles, their clothing is a hot seller in the store.   
"I want my Daddy!" Parker cried, slamming her fists into the table and pouting. Maria sighed, a laugh escaping her lips. Parker was definitely Daddy's little girl. From the moment she was born, she had Michael wrapped around her tiny little finger. It was amazing to Maria how much a wife and kids had grounded her husband. He wasn't the same person he was when they were in high school.   
"I told you, he'll be home in a little while. Don't be a silly girl. So what would you like for dinner?" Maria asked. "Pizza? Chicken? Hamburgers?"   
"Pasketti." Parker said firmly, her arms crossed on her chest.   
"Spaghetti? That sounds good." Maria said, pulling out a box of spaghetti noodles from the cupboard.   
"Mama, when are we going to see the babies again? I want to see the babies." Parker said, opening up a coloring book on the table and reaching for some nearby crayons.   
"Uncle Max and Aunt Liz work a lot. Maybe we can go visit Dylan and Matty this weekend when they're not working."   
"I want to see them now!" Parker whined.   
Maria sighed, resting her head in her hands. The terrible twos had grown into the terrible threes for her daughter. She wasn't sure if she was going to make it until Graduation Day with this one.   
* * * * *

Theresa Bingham laid lesiurely in her bathtub, her pregnant belly stealing most of the mountain of bubbles from the rest of her body. She couldn't get her mind off her doctor's visit that day. Was Max on to her? Did he figure out the mystery that quickly?   
She laughed. "He's smart. But he's not that smart. He's not expecting this." Just then, her relaxing bath was interrupted by a knock at the door. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I told you NEVER to bother me when I'm in the tub! I need time alone to think!"   
"I'm sorry..." A voice called from behind the door. "But I thought you'd want to hear about this..."   
Theresa rolled her eyes. "Fine, come in."   
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman walked into the bathroom, a newspaper clipping in her hand. "This was in the paper today." She thrust the paper towards Theresa.   
"I can't read that when I'm in the BATHTUB! I'll get it all wet. You idiot!" Theresa said, her auburn waves cascading down from the pile of hair on top of her head. Her blue eyes pierced visciously into the woman hovering over her. "Read it to me."   
"Okay." The woman said, clearing her throat. "Local architect Michael Guerin to open his own office in Roswell."   
Theresa smirked. "The boy's doing well for himself. Keep reading."   
" '...until recently, thirty-three-year-old Guerin had been working solely for The Rittenbauer and Sons firm in Los Topicos, fifty miles outside of Roswell. After designing several buildings on Main Street, including the clothing store Perfectly Alienated, owned by his wife, Maria, and friend, Isabel Whitman, Guerin has decided to open his own office and work on projects ranging from houses to other businesses right here in Roswell. Guerin has lived in Roswell his entire life and he and wife Maria have two children: eight-year-old Evan and three-year-old Parker.' "   
"Awww...what a cute little family. But with Maria? She's such a tramp. Michael could do so much better." Theresa said, sucking her teeth in disgust. "Frankly, I'm disappointed that they ended up together."   
Theresa's companion arched her eyebrow. "Well, you have been gone for a very long time, Tessa. What did you expect to happen?"   
"Whatever. The stupid Guerin family is of no interest to me. If my brother wants to ruin his life, so be it." Theresa said, rolling her eyes.   
The companion sighed. "Theresa. You can't keep calling him your brother. We have to keep a low profile, remember?"   
"This is our home, Nasedo! Who is going to say or do anything? No one, okay! No one!"   
"Quit calling me Nasedo. Call me Jessica, like we planned, okay? God knows who could be watching and listening right now! I've spent too much time recovering your body to screw things up now." Jessica said firmly.   
"You are WAY to paranoid, you need to CALM yourself down. How much longer to I have to be in this ugly body anyway? I'm tired of being pregnant. My legs are swollen like two Christmas hams and my breasts hurt like hell." Theresa said, splashing her feet in the warm bath water.   
"Give me a few more weeks. Just a few, the crystals aren't working as well as I hoped..."   
"Well why NOT?" Theresa screamed.   
"Why NOT, Tessa? Why NOT? Because we don't have Max, Michael, or Isabel to heal you, that's why not. It's clear they want nothing to do with us."   
"When has that ever stopped us?" Theresa said, laughing.   
"True... but we forcing them to help us isn't going to do us any good. In order for the crystals to work, we need your four complete energies..." Jessica said sincerely.   
"Are you telling me I will never get back to my real body?" Theresa said with a terrified look in her eye.   
Jessica paused. "No. It's just going to take a little while longer. Be patient. I've spent the last ten years of my life trying to get you back, Tess. I care about you like my own child. I mean, God, I almost killed myself trying to give you the power to shapeshift. So please, just trust me. You know you can."   
Theresa paused, dunking her head under the water and coming back up quickly. "You promised me my son. If I don't get my son..."   
"You'll get your family back. You have my word." Jessica said firmly.   
"I know I can count on you, Nasedo." Theresa said, holding Jessica's hand and pressing it against the side of her face.   
"Until then, keep doing what you're doing. Keep trying to get inside his head."   
"It's been so long...I can't wait to hold him in my arms again and tell him how much I love him."   
"Who? Adam-Michael or Max?" Jessica asked with a smirk.   
Theresa laughed. "Both."

* * * * *

Liz carefully laid Matthew down in his crib as Max did the same for Dylan.   
"Goodnight, angels." Liz said, kissing each baby's head and moving towards the hallway. Max flipped off the lights and he shut the door behind them. Making their way into their bedroom, Max sighed. "What was that sigh for?" Liz asked, smiling, as they pulled down the covers on their bed and snuggled down into the sheets together.   
"Do you ever get the feeling, when you look into someone's eyes, that you know them...even if they are a complete stranger?"   
"What, like another life or something?" Liz asked, caressing Max's chest lightly with her fingers.   
Max paused. "Yeah. I mean, I had this patient today. I'd never seen her before in my life, I know that... but for a second, I thought..."   
"You thought you knew her from somewhere?" Liz asked, staring off into space.   
"Yeah. I know it sounds ridiculous." Max said.   
"No, it isn't ridiculous, sweetie." She replied, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. There was a silence between them as they each relaxed more in each other's arms, trying to fall asleep.   
"Liz."   
"Yeah?" She asked quietly, her exhausted eyes fluttering closed.   
"What happened to Adam-Michael last night?" He asked. Liz's eyes flew open.   
She paused. "What do you mean?"   
"I mean, this morning, when Jordana had her nightmare, Adam asked her if she'd thought she saw someone...what did he mean by that?" Max asked.   
"I don't know honey, why are you asking me?"   
"Well, after he asked her that, you gave him a look to try to make him be quiet."   
Liz sat up. "Umm..."   
"Are you hiding something from me?" Max asked her pointedly. Liz's expression told all. He pressed on further. "What is it? We don't keep secrets from each other."   
"I just don't...want to upset you."   
"Oh, baby, nothing you ever say would ever hurt me..." He ran his fingers through her long brown hair. "So just tell me. Please?"   
Liz sighed. "Adam-Michael thought... he saw...Tess...last night."   
Max gasped. "What?" He asked, choking on the words.   
Liz nodded. "He was outside on the porch, he couldn't sleep. He got this...premonition, or something...she was there."   
Max grabbed Liz and pulled her body close to his. "Oh my God." His eyes were wide open with fear. "But it was just that...a premonition...right?"   
"Yes. But when I was feeding the twins, Adam came in from outside and sat with us for a while. When he was in there, he heard...her voice...in his head...speaking to him..."   
Max fumed. "Dammit!"   
"Max, please be quiet, you'll wake the kids... nothing's happened yet... just some scary coincidences...."   
"Then Jordana had her nightmare...she thought she saw something or someone... it was Tess, wasn't it? God, Liz, why didn't you tell me?" Max screamed.   
"I didn't tell you for *exactly* this reason! I knew you'd flip out! And I just can't deal with that right now." Liz said, her eyes filling with warm tears. Max looked deep into her eyes as his own eyes began brimming with tears of frustration. He pulled her close to him as they laid back down on the bed. He rubbed her hair with his hand and tried to sooth her.   
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." He said softly.   
"It's okay, it's not your fault. I should have told you sooner..."   
"No, you were right not to tell me...I'm sorry...I'm not going to let anything happen to you...or the kids." Max said firmly, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."   
"I love you too." She said as he lifted her chin with his hand and kissed her. She held onto him tightly, needing to feel protected from every fear bouncing around in her brain. She needed peace. She needed calm. She needed him. After a few quiet moments between them, she returned to his lips, and with every kiss, she felt herself and her fears slip away...

* * * * *   
**_Part Four::._**   


"OK, class, now, I want you to use the four wooden sticks on your lab table to secure the frog's hands and feet to the bottom of the tray. We don't want any appendages flying everywhere when we start cutting stuff open now do we?" Adam-Michael's biology teacher smiled with the slightest bit of sick pleasure as he cut open the large bullfrog lying spread eagle on the lab table in the front of the room.   
"Oh my Lord. Oh my Lord." The pretty blonde-haired girl sitting next to Adam began to repeat under her breath. She was taking deep breaths in and out but nothing was working."Adam, I can't do this." She said, looking over to her bio lab partner with a green tint to her face.   
Adam-Michael chuckled softly. "Lauren, don't worry. You can record everything. I'll do the messy stuff. You don't even have to look if you don't want to." He said, smiling at her.   
Lauren smiled back at him. "Really? You don't mind?"

"Of course not. My parents are doctors. I guess I get it from them. You know, the strong stomach thing." Adam-Michael said, picking up a scalpel and taking a deep breath. "OK, here I go. Now the manual says to make an incision from here....to here..." Adam said, calmly slicing open the specimen.   
"Oh, my Lord. That is so gross." Lauren said, shutting her eyes tight but opening them again with realization. "Oh, I remember! I remember what this reminds me of now..."   
"What could this possibly remind you of? "Adam-Michael asked her, laughing.   
Lauren smiled. "No, I'm serious! This reminds me of that 'Alien Autopsy' show my Dad and I watched when I was little...you know, where they take the big knife and slice the alien into little bits...it was so hilarious!"   
Adam-Michael's face went sheet white as he imagined one of his own relatives lying on the table in front of him, just like on the show Lauren and the Sheriff had seen. While he was lost in thought, he dropped the scalpel on the floor, causing Lauren to look up from her lab report in alarm.   
"Adam! Are you OK?" Lauren asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.   
"Yeah, yeah. I mean, no, no, I'm not. I need to get...some air...excuse me." Adam said, running from his chair and out of the classroom.   
"Mr. Evans! Mr. Evans, where are you going? You need a hall pass, young man!" The teacher said with warning. He walked back towards Adam-Michael and Lauren's lab table and leaned over it, facing Lauren. "Miss Valenti, what happened to him?"   
"I don't know, Mr. Jackson, I mean he was fine one minute, then we were talking and the next thing I know, he dropped the scalpel and he ran out." Lauren replied.   
"So, I guess he couldn't take it, huh?" Mr. Jackson replied, chuckling. "Looks like you're the one who's going to have to do it."   
"What!" Lauren asked with horror.   
* * * * *

Adam-Michael had made it to the bathroom and managed to splash some water on his face, trying to get the image of the Alien Autopsy out of his mind.   
"Get a hold of yourself." Adam whispered to himself, surprised to hear not only the sound of his voice echoing, but also another, very different, very familiar whisper adding to the chorus. He turned around with alarm. "Hello?" He asked.   
No response.   
"Jeez, I'm losing it!" Adam cried, turning back to the mirror and looking himself in the face once more.   
But the whisper continued, creeping through the room like hot molten lava, spreading to every inch of the room's cinder block walls, making no place safe or silent. Adam-Michael craned his ear towards the window, where the sound seemed to be coming from. As he moved closer to it, he could finally make out the words.   
"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock... when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall...and down will come Adam, cradle and all..." The icy but somewhat comforting voice seemed to call to him, beckoning him to the window. Adam recognized the voice immediately.   
"Tess?" He whispered.   
"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top..." The singing continued.   
"Tess, is that you?" Adam-Michael said frantically, his voice rising with urgency.   
"Turn around..." The voice whispered. Adam-Michael turned around so he was looking in the mirror once more. He jumped backwards a good ten feet when he saw the image before him.   
It was his mother, Tess. She was blowing him a kiss.   
Adam's eyes watered with hot tears. "Mother?" He asked. "What..."   
"Shhh." The image said, holding a finger to her lips. "Soon, Adam-Michael. Soon."   
"What? What? Soon?" Adam asked, spinning around frantically, his voice getting louder with each word. "Mother!"   
And with that, the image of Tess, as well as the singing, was gone.   
And Adam-Michael was once again left alone, trying to sort together the pieces of his heart.

* * * * *   
"Mom, you really are the greatest. I am SO sorry the sitter cancelled." Liz said, running into the Crashdown, her purse in tow. She met her Mother, Nancy, at the counter with a hug and a kiss.   
"Sweetie, don't mention it. They are wonderful babies. They ate and slept most of the day.." Nancy said, taking her daughter's hand and leading her to the upstairs apartment she still shared with Liz's father, Jeff. "They woke up and were fussy for a while, so we played with some toys and I sang to them. That seemed to calm them down."   
"Did they tag team you at all?"   
Nancy laughed. "Tag team? Heaven's no. When one was up, the other was up, when one was asleep, the other was too."   
Liz sighed with relief. "Good. I'm glad they weren't little monsters. I want to make sure I can call you if this ever happens again..."   
"Lizzie, you know you can call me anytime. There are plenty of waitresses and cooks downstairs who handle things. I'm mostly up here by myself all day. It's nice to have some company every once in a while. Even if they can't talk." Nancy said, smiling. They walked into Liz's old room where they had the playpen set up. Matty and Dylan were out like lights. Liz felt a rush of emotion as she saw her babies lying there so peacefully. She sighed.   
"They really are so cute when they're sleeping." Liz said, smiling.   
"And when they're awake. They're so handsome. They're going to be real heartbreakers one day." Nancy chimed in.   
"Like their father." Liz said, smiling. Nancy nodded in agreement.   
"So how was work today?" Nancy asked, smiling. "Did you deliver any babies?"   
"Two...well really three. One was...stillborn." Liz said, hanging her head.   
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Nancy said, putting her arm around her daughter.   
"Yeah, this is the third time I've delivered a stillborn baby. It doesn't get any easier." Liz's voice dropped to a whisper. "It makes me so thankful for the precious gifts I've been given." She leaned her head down into the playpen and kissed each of her sons on their soft rosy cheeks. Matty and Dylan stirred simultaneously, their soft whimpers turning in to loud cries for their Mom. Liz smiled, picking up Matty as Nancy picked up Dylan.   
"Awww. Sweetie, don't cry. Your Mama's here now. Yes, she's going to take you home and see your Daddy, and your sister and your brother..." Nancy whispered in Dylan's ear. He continued to cry.   
"I think they're hungry. That's definitely a hungry cry." Liz said. "Are there anymore of the bottles I gave you?"   
"You can check in the fridge. I think there are two left." Nancy said as they headed downstairs into the kitchen, grabbing the last two bottles and putting them in the microwave. Liz took them out and tested them on her wrist to make sure they weren't too hot. She then handed one to her mother so she could feed Dylan. They returned back upstairs and sat in the living room, feeding the babies.   
"I should probably get home. Jordana will be coming home from school soon and I'd like to be there for her to make her a snack."   
Nancy smiled, noticing Liz's furrowed brow at the mention of her granddaughter. "Lizzie. You're not neglecting her."   
"What?" Liz asked, confused. "No, I mean. Well, I am kind of worried...that I'm not spending enough time with her. And it breaks my heart. I mean, she's my baby. She's my first."   
Nancy smiled. "I understand."   
"And I don't love her any less than any of my kids. It's just been hard for her, you know?"   
"She's not the baby anymore." Nancy piped in.   
"Yeah." Liz said, nodding her head. "She's having a hard time getting used to the fact that there are little people in the house that need Mom's attention too."   
"She'll come around. It's only been two months."   
"Still. I think I might take her to the Santa Fe Zoo on Saturday or something. I'm not on call, and she loves the Zoo. She wants to be a Vet."   
"Oh, really? That's wonderful." Nancy said, rocking Dylan as he ate.   
"Yeah, Max can stay home and take care of the boys. I'm sure he won't mind."   
Nancy smiled. "Some male bonding time."   
"Yeah." Liz said, smiling. "He really loves spending time with the boys. He missed out on so much with Adam-Michael. He missed the first five years of his life. So this is all so fun for him, with his little boys."   
"Max seems to be a wonderful husband and father." Nancy said.   
"He really is."   
"Where ever did you find him?" Her mother asked, a wide smile spreading across her face.   
"Oh, he kind of...fell out of the sky..." Liz said, smiling. Nancy smiled back at her.

* * * * *

Liz unlocked the door to her home, pushing the double baby stroller through the doorway and into the house. There was something that seemed different about the place. Liz picked up the babies and took them into the kitchen, where she found Adam-Michael's car keys and bookbag lying on the table. He wasn't supposed to be home until after Jordana.   
"Adam-Michael!" Liz cried. "Honey, are you OK?"   
There was no answer. Liz held the babies close to her as she walked down the hallway into Adam's room, knocking on the door before entering. She gasped at what she found. "Adam!" She cried, running towards him. He was kneeling in the corner, a blanket wrapped around himself, his face dripping in sweat, his knees hugged tightly to his body, rocking slowly back and forth. "Adam! Adam, what's wrong?"   
Adam continued to whisper. "Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top..." He sang the children's rhyme over and over to himself as his body swayed back and forth.   
"Adam, what happened? Please, tell me! "Liz cried. "Was it Tess? Please! Tell me!"   
Adam-Michael looked into Liz's eyes, and Liz felt a shiver go up and down her spine. She swore she could feel Tess Harding's icy stare pouring into her. This made her draw her hand back quickly from her son.   
"Soon." Adam-Michael managed to choke out through tears. "Soon, she said soon. Soon, Mom."   
Liz reeled, finally letting her tears of terror and anger flow freely from her eyes. "No. This can't be happening."   
Adam-Michael let out a shrill cry that scared Liz to death. He sounded like a wounded animal. He looked into her eyes as Matthew and Dylan began screaming in Liz's arms. "Mom. I'm sorry." He whispered. "I don't know what came over me..."   
"Adam, honey..." Liz said, gently lying the babies on Adam's bed so she could hug her oldest son. "It's OK. What happened to you?"   
"I can't...I don't want to..." He began, shaking his head as tears began forming in his brown eyes.   
Liz nodded her head. "It's OK, it's all right. We can talk about it later. When Dad comes home, we'll all sit down and talk about this."   
"I don't...want to worry him. It could be nothing."   
"But it could be something. We're dealing with an alien here."   
Adam-Michael paused. "I'm an alien, too, Mom."   
Liz sighed, knowing she'd made a really stupid comment. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean it like that. I mean, we don't know about your life cycles... I mean, what if you can...I don't know..."   
"Come back from the dead?" Adam-Michael asked with a twinge of skepticism in his voice.   
"Yeah." Liz said quietly.   
"I hope not." Adam-Michael said. "I mean, Tess is my real mother. And a part of my heart will always be with her. But after what she did to you, Dad, Jordana, everyone... I won't let her do it to you again."   
Liz put her arms around his waist. He was at least eight inches taller than her and he towered over her. "I know sweetie. We're not going to let anything happen to any of you. Your Dad and I would rather die than see harm come to any of you."   
"Thanks, Mom. But hopefully we won't have to worry about that." Adam-Michael said. "Maybe I'm just imagining all this."   
"Still, we don't know what she's capable of. Remember, Nasedo is still out there. For all we know, he could have taken those healing stones and restored her body back to life..." Liz added.   
Adam-Michael looked at her, puzzled. "Healing stones?"   
"Yeah. They're these stones that this Indian named River Dog gave to us: me, your Dad, Aunt Isabel, Uncle Alex, Michael, and Maria when we were in high school. See, Michael got really sick, and he almost died. We used those stones and chanted. We brought him back to life." Adam-Michael nodded, turning to the bed and picking up a squirming Dylan. Liz picked up Matty and held him close to her, smelling his sweet baby smell.   
"I missed these little guys. Hey buddies! How's life treatin' ya?" Adam asked Dylan, rocking him back and forth in his arms. Dylan only responded with a yawn. Adam and Liz laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty beat too." He wiped the leftover tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.   
"Do you want to come out into the kitchen with me? Jordana's coming home soon and I wanted to make her a snack." Liz said.   
"Sure." Adam-Michael said, following his Mom down the hallway from his room into the kitchen. He rocked Dylan in his arms as his barefeet relished the cool kitchen floor. "Hey, Isn't Zach's birthday today?"   
"Yeah. Aunt Isabel and Uncle Alex invited us all over for dinner. Do you want to go?" Liz asked him as she began pulling out items from the refridgerator to make Jordana's after-school snack.   
Adam-Michael paused and nodded his head. "Sure. That sounds cool. I haven't seen everyone in a while."   
"Yeah, it will be good for you. Help take your mind off things." Liz said, placing Matty in a carrier that was set up on the kitchen counter so she could watch him while she was cutting up celery.   
Adam-Michael nodded and sighed. "I hope so."   
"So how was school?" Liz asked.   
"Mortifying."   
"What happened?"   
"Well we were dissecting this frog today in biology class.... and Lauren Valenti is my lab partner...."   
"Kyle's daughter? That's so cool!" Liz said, smiling as she cut up celery and spread peanut butter on top of the slices.   
"Yeah, and she's the most beautiful girl at West Roswell..." Adam-Michael said, smiling. Liz smiled. "Anyway, I was doing the cutting cause she was really grossed out by the whole thing. And she mentioned something about that 'Alien Autopsy' show a while back and I lost it."   
Liz nodded. "Understandable."   
"Yeah, to you, but not to her! I dropped the scalpel and ran out of the room." Adam-Michael said, grimacing.   
"Aww, honey, I'm sure she's forgotten all about it." Liz said. "So...you and Lauren are friends?"   
"Yeah, *just* friends."   
"Ever thought about asking her out?"   
"Mom..." Adam-Michael said, embarrassed.   
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Liz said, giggling. "OK, I won't pry anymore. But you *do* know that before your Dad and I started dating, I dated Lauren's Dad for a while..."   
"No way!" Adam said, smiling.   
"Yup." Liz said, grinning. "He was a big jock, which I didn't like too much. But he was a great kisser."   
"Mom. I don't need all the details." Adam-Michael said, rolling his eyes.   
"Sorry. Again." Liz said, grinning as she finished Jordana's snack.   
The door swung open and slammed loudly as Jordana Isabel Parker Evans bounded into the house. "Mom! I'm home!"   
"We're in the kitchen, honey!" Liz cried. Jordana walked in with her bookbag slung over her shoulder and smiled.   
"Wow, looks like a party in here! What are you doing home, Adam?" Jordana asked as she threw her bookbag on the kitchen table and walked towards her brother, giving him a hug. Adam kissed her on the top of her head. Jordana kissed Dylan's soft brown hair.   
"Oh, I wasn't feeling well at school, so I got an early release." Adam-Michael explained. Jordana nodded and headed over to Liz, giving her a big hug. Liz kissed her on the cheek and handed her a celery stick with peanut butter and raisins sprinkled on top.   
"Here, I made your favorite." Liz said, putting her hand on the side of Jordana's face. She really was exquisite. Deep brown eyes, long chestnut brown hair, round face, soft pink lips, rosy cheeks.   
"Thanks, Mom." Jordana said, smiling and taking a bite of celery. "Hi, Matty! Hello, baby baby baby!" Jordana said, playing with Matty's foot. Matty responded by wiggling his arms and feet slowly and smiling.   
Liz and Adam-Michael looked at each other and silently agreed that Jordana couldn't know about the Tess situation. Not until they knew for sure what was really going on. They weren't completely sure if Tess had started invading Jordana's subconsious as well, but they knew it was only a matter of time.   
"Hey, are we still going to Aunt Isabel's and Uncle Alex's tonight?" Jordana asked her Mom as she chomped on the celery sticks.   
"Yep. Your Dad's getting off work at 7, so he's going to meet us there." Liz said as she nibbled on one of the celery sticks she'd made for her daughter.   
"Cool. Michaela got the new 'Hot Boys' CD and I can't wait to hear it." Jordana said, smiling with glee.   
"ICK!" Adam-Michael cried. "Boy bands are so lame."   
"Shut up." Jordana said. "They happen to write all their own music."   
"Yeah, that's why the songs SUCK!" Adam cried, giggling. Jordana stuck her tongue out at him and playfully punched his arm.   
"Well it's better than that stuff you listen to. You can't even understand the words!" Jordana cried, munching.   
"Hey, I happen to LIKE it that way!' Adam-Michael said, smiling. "So there."   
Liz looked at them, smiling. "Tess will never hurt them, never again. She'll have to get through me first." Liz silently thought to herself.   
* * * * *   


"Dr. Evans, you have a phone call on line two." Joan said, her voice echoing through the phone sitting on Max's desk.   
Max frowned. "Joan, I'm getting ready to walk out the door. I'm already late for my nephew's birthday party. Can you take a message and tell them to call back in the morning?"   
"I would, Doctor, but she says it's an emergency."   
Max sighed. "Okay. Who is it?"   
"Theresa Bingham. You saw her the other day."   
Max's heart stopped. That strange yet familiar woman's name echoed through his ears. He didn't have to work hard to recall her face, it was burned into his memory. "Um." He stuttered. "All right, put her through." He looked at the blinking light on the phone for a few moments before finally pushing it and picking up the receiver. "Hello?" He asked quietly.   
"Hello, Dr. Evans, it's Theresa."   
"Oh. Hi, Theresa. What can I do for you?" Max said with an uncomfortable tone.   
*Plenty.* Tess thought as she rubbed her finger across her moist lips. "Oh, I just had a question...about something."   
"Sure, anything. What seems to be the problem?"   
"Oh, I was just wondering. I've read conflicting reports, about drinking coffee and soda and things with caffeine in it while you're pregnant. I wanted to hear it straight from the doctor- will it harm my baby?" Tess asked, twirling the phone cord around her finger with frustration. She wanted so badly to reach through the phone lines and attack that beautiful man with a million kisses.   
Max paused, clearing his throat, about to give his textbook lecture on caffeine. "Well, Theresa. As with anything, moderation is key. Too much caffeine causes your blood pressure to rise, which is extremely harmful to the baby. So it is okay to drink a soda every once in a while or to have a cup of coffee. But only one cup every day. Coffee has much more caffeine than soda, so you have to be careful with that."   
"Thank you so much, Dr. Evans."   
"Well, I'm glad I could help. Now, if you don't have anymore questions, I'm sorry, I really must go...I'm late for a family gathering..." Max said, pulling some papers into his briefcase and pulling his jacket out of the closet in his office, grabbing the car keys out of the front pocket.   
"Oh, that's nice. Someone's birthday or something?" Tess asked, trying to pry for information.   
Max paused, knowing he was uncomfortable with this line of questioning but not sure why that was the case. "Um, yes, my nephew is turning six."   
"Aww, that's very sweet. Well I hope you have a good time, Doctor." Tess said sweetly, her saccharin voice send a chill up Max's spine.   
Max paused. "Thank you, Theresa. Goodbye."   
"Goodbye, Dr. Evans." Tess said, hanging up the phone.   
Max looked down at his hands after he placed the phone on its cradle again.   
They were shaking.

* * * * *

Liz looked out of the window above the Whitmans' sink, pacing around the kitchen with Dylan cradled in her arms. "Where is he?"   
Isabel Whitman walked into her kitchen, her two-year-old son Ryan slung over her shoulder enduring one of her famous tickle tortures. The sound of gleeful laughter coming from the little boy caused Liz to turn around.   
"Liz, he'll be here." Isabel said firmly, placing a comforting hand on her sister-in-law's shoulder.   
"I know, I'm just worried." Liz said, sighing.   
"Stop worrying." Isabel said, smiling. "Come on, we can put Dylan down in Ryan's room before dinner."   
"No, it's OK. I want to hold him for a while. Does Maria still have her eye on Matty?" Liz said, kissing the baby's head.   
Isabel smiled. "Yeah, she's got him. Parker just loves him. She keeps giving him little kisses on his face."   
Liz smiled at her and nodded. "She is adorable."   
Isabel smiled back and nodded in agreement.   
"Ryan, why don't you go see what Daddy's doing." Isabel said to Ryan as she put him on the floor to let him run freely through the house.   
"Daddy!" Ryan cried, running out of the kitchen and through the living room, into Michaela's room where they had the computer set up. Evan Guerin and Alex were playing a new computer game he had just gotten and Ryan wanted to join the party. "Daddy! Daddy!" He cried, flying towards Alex Whitman with open arms.

  


"Hey, buddy. You wanna play the game with us?"   
"Yeah! Yeah!" Ryan cried, clapping his hands as Alex picked him up and planted him in his lap. Evan sighed, secretly tired of all the babies running around the house. There really wasn't anyone his age in the family to talk to, and it was bumming him out.   
"Evan, is that OK if Ryan watches us play this game?" Alex asked him.   
"Sure, if you think graphic violence is suitable for a two-year-old." Evan said flatly. Alex ignored the comment, realizing this was Michael's son he was dealing with. The apple didn't fall far from the tree as far as the eldest Guerin child was concerned.   
"He doesn't understand any of that stuff, Evan... I think it will be OK." Alex said, gently nudging his nephew into agreement.   
Evan's eyes grew big. "Fine, suit yourself. But if Aunt Isabel comes in here and throws a fit cause her baby's watching a bunch of people getting blown up, don't blame me."   
Alex raised one of his eyebrows at Evan, realizing that he was right. "Evan my man, I think you have a point. I think I'm just going to take him back out in the living room with everyone. OK?"   
"OK, but you're missing the best part...I'm about to shoot this arrow thing with this poison tip, I'm going to shoot him straight through the heart and his blood's going to splatter everywhere and..." Evan began, growing more excited about the prospect of video game anhilation with every word. "Typical eight-year-old boy behavior." Alex thought to himself as he smiled, picked up his son and walked towards the door to Michaela's room.   
"I think I'll take a raincheck on that one buddy."   
"Oh, and Uncle Alex?"   
"Yeah?"   
"When's dinner?" Evan asked, keeping his eyes focused on the game at hand.   
"Whenever Max gets here." Alex said, sighing.   
"I hope it's soon, I'm hungry like a mug."   
Alex raised his eyebrow to his nephew. "'Hungry like a mug?'" He whispered under his breath. "OK, Evan, we'll call you when we're ready to eat."   
"Sure." Evan said, too enthralled with his video game quest to notice his Uncle leaving the room.   
While Evan played video games in Michaela's room, Michaela and Jordana were hanging out in Zachary's room, watching a video he had gotten from the Evanses for his birthday.   
Zach turned around, tapping his sister on the shoulder as they sat on the floor of his room, lounging on beanbag chairs.   
"Yeah, Zach?" Michaela asked him, signing the words with her hands.   
"When will dinner be ready?" He signed to her, trying to vocalize the words as well.   
"When will dinner be ready?" Michaela repeated, signing back to him. "When Uncle Max gets here." Zach nodded his head in understanding as they went back to watching the video. The TV was turned up to normal volume with closed captions on the bottom so Zach could understand.   
Zachary Alexander Whitman was born with almost complete hearing loss. Isabel and Alex first noticed the signs when he was only a couple of months old. He wasn't responding when they called his name. They would snap their fingers next to his ear and he still wouldn't respond. One night, Michaela dropped a dish on accident and it shattered all over the floor, making an extremely loud noise.   
Zachary didn't move a muscle. They took him to the doctor and had him tested for a hearing loss, and their worst fears were confirmed. The family immediately learned sign language so they could communicate with Zach once he began trying to speak. He isn't mute, so he can make some sounds, but it is nearly impossible for him to express himself without signing too. They've even started teaching Ryan some simple signs so he can communicate with Zachary.   
"Michaela, can you ask him if he likes the movie?" Jordana asked, smiling at her sweet younger cousin.   
"Sure." Michaela said, turning to Zachary. "Zach, Jordana wants to know if you're liking the movie they brought you for your birthday?"   
Zach smiled at Jordana and nodded. Jordana smiled back at him. She knew he liked it and that made her happy. The girls and Zachary laid back and enjoyed the rest of the movie while a lot of hustle and bustle was going on outside his room. Isabel and Alex were working hard to make this a perfect party for him. They had the whole place decorated and had ordered a special cake for him. Chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, his favorite.   
"Michael, can you move that side of the banner up some?" Isabel asked, looking at the mantle above the fireplace where they had hung Zachary's birthday banner. Michael got up from the couch and carefully moved the banner slowly.   
"How's that, Iz?" Michael asked, turning around to face her. She gave him a smile and a thumbs up.   
"Perfect! Thank you." Isabel said, smiling with approval. Michael returned to the floor, where he was working on a puzzle with Parker. Maria was lying on the couch, admiring Matthew's general cuteness. Alex and Ryan pulled out some big Legos and were working on a castle, and Isabel returned to the kitchen to get the food situated for the party. She found Liz still pacing, a sleeping Dylan cradled in her arms.   
"I think I see him." Liz said, beaming. She sighed. "Thank God."   
"Liz, you really have to stop worrying about him everytime you're out of his sight. It's kind of...creepy." Isabel said, pulling aluminum foil off several plates of food before putting them on the table.   
Liz paused before answering the comment. She needed to talk to Max before she told Isabel and the others about Adam-Michael's generally weird behavior and the Tess premonitions. "Well, excuse me for worrying about my family."   
Isabel sighed, knowing that Liz and Max were a hopeless case. In their eyes, they only saw each other. She didn't quite understand their relationship, it was totally different than she and Alex's. "Here, let me take the baby and I'll put him down in Ryan's room. Then we can have dinner, OK?" Isabel asked Liz. Liz looked at her with a pained glance before handing Dylan over to her.   
"All right." Liz said quietly. She gave Dylan a kiss on his soft head. He stirred a little bit as he felt himself leave the warmth of his mother's arms but was still again as Isabel laid his head on her shoulder.   
"Hi, Dylan...you sweet little angel." Isabel cooed at him as she walked into Ryan's room, placing him in the playpen and closing the door behind her. Liz walked out the front door and ran down the driveway to meet Max, throwing her arms around him and kissing him.   
"Wow. Hello to you too!" Max said, smiling.   
"I was worried!" She replied, mock-hitting him on the arm.   
"I'm sorry, baby. A patient called when I was getting ready to leave and that tied me up. Then the traffic out of there was awful. Did I miss anything?" Max asked as they walked back through the Whitmans' door hand-in-hand.   
"Not a thing. We were waiting for you to come so we can eat." Liz said, pulling him into another hug. "We need to talk later. In private." She whispered in his ear.   
He looked at her with alarm, but soon people were crowding around them.   
As Max appeared at the door, a cheer rose from Michael and Alex's lips. "Yes! We're starving!" Alex cried. Jordana, Michaela, Zachary, and Evan filed in the living room from the bedrooms and greeted Max. Jordana ran into his arms, giving him a huge hug.   
"Dad, you're late!" She cried, smiling.   
"I know, I know, I'm sorry guys. Let's eat!" Max said, clapping his hands together and smiling.   
Everyone agreed with that notion. He walked over to Zachary and kneeled down to his eye level. He pulled on Zachary's shirt and Zach turned around to see him. Max handed him a small Dragon figurine he had pulled out of his pocket and placed it in Zachary's tiny hand. Zachary had always loved when Isabel and Alex acted out the stories about valiant knights fighting evil dragons.   
"This is for you." Max said and signed.   
Zachary smiled, hugging Max. "Thank you, Uncle Max." He signed.   
"You're welcome." Max signed. Max and Liz had learned a little bit of sign language so they could communicate with their nephew on a basic level. Max sweeped across the kitchen, walking up behind Liz and putting his arms around her waist. "Where are the boys?" He whispered in her ear.   
"Maria's putting Matty down with Dylan. They're in Ryan's room, asleep." Liz said.   
"What about Adam?" Max asked, looking around for his eldest son.   
Liz paused, feeling her heart drop into her stomach at the mention of him. "He's..he's coming...later. He has a big paper due tomorrow. He was going to work on that...and then come over."   
"Oh, OK." Max said, kissing her earlobe.   
"All right, guys, the plates are on the end of the table...grab whatever you want, then come in the dining room so we can eat." Isabel said, pointing to the end of the table where there was a large stack of paper plates, utensils, and napkins. Next to the stack of napkins were several bottles of Tabasco sauce: one each for Isabel, Max, Michael, and Adam-Michael, and several for the rest of the kids to share as well. After all these years, Liz, Maria, and Alex still turned their noses up at the hot stuff. Liz grabbed her plate and felt a chill go down her spine. She instinctively turned around to look out of the window, hoping to see Adam-Michael's car pull up in the driveway. She silently cursed herself for letting him stay home alone.

* * * * *

Adam-Michael pulled on a fresh shirt and walked over to the mirror on the wall in his bedroom. He studied his image for a few moments, but after a while, he finally had to turn away. Each millisecond of time he looked at his face in the mirror, the more his skin crawled, the more his eyes seemed to become something-- rather, someone else's...it was making him shiver.   
"Stop it!" Adam screamed, covering his ears with his hands. "Leave me alone!" His eyes were shut so tight that tears were flowing from them. The phone rang then, and Adam slowly walked over to the phone in the corner of his room, his eyes still shut tight, his body curled tight into itself, like he was trying to hide from the world. He took a deep breath before answering it. "Hello?" His voice said, meekly. Deep down in a terrified part of his soul, he thought that it was his mother trying to contact him from beyond the grave...   
"Adam-Michael? Is that you?" The voice was sweet like honey.   
Adam's heart dropped. His eyes flew open, and for the first time in the entire horrifying episode, he smiled.   
"Lauren." He said, his voice barely a whisper. It was more like an exhale, like he was too afraid to breathe, but now that she was with him, he could feel himself taking breaths again. "Hey. What's...up?"   
"I just wanted to call...to see if, you know, you were OK and all? You had me worried, you left Bio and never came back, I thought maybe you were, you know, sick or something? I just *had* to make sure you were all right." Lauren asked.   
Adam-Michael was shocked. She was actually worried about him! "Yeah, Lauren, I'm fine, everything's fine now, I was just a little...nauseous. Yeah, the dissection, it got to me I guess..."   
"Not such a strong stomach after all?" She asked, giggling.   
"Yeah, I guess not." He said, smiling. She laughed again and he thought he was in Heaven. She had the sweetest laugh.   
"So..." Lauren began.   
"So..." Adam-Michael added.   
"So, what are you doing tonight?" Lauren asked.   
Adam paused. This was monumental. Lauren Valenti enquiring about his personal plans. "Oh, I have this family party thing I have to go too...it's going to be lame though, a bunch of little kids..."   
"Oh, well I don't have anything to do...I mean, my Dad's working late, so it's just me here, all alone...I'm pretty bored and MTV is showing endless reruns of 'Road Rules'. It's nauseating..." Lauren said, sighing.   
Adam-Michael suddenly felt a burst of empowerment. "Do you want to go with me?"   
Lauren paused, considering the offer, then smiling. "Well, I wouldn't want to impose..."   
Adam-Michael smiled. "You wouldn't be imposing, I mean...you know my parents, right?"   
"Yeah, they deliver babies, right? They went to high school with my Dad." Lauren said, twirling the phone cord around her finger.   
Adam-Michael laughed. "Actually, my Mom told me today that she used to go out with your Dad before she met my Dad!"   
Lauren laughed. "Really? Yikes! My Dad is so... well...he's my Dad..." She giggled again. Adam-Michael sighed. He couldn't believe this was happening.   
"So, what do you say? Can I pick you up in like 20 minutes?" Adam-Michael asked hopefully. He had no idea where all this bravery was coming from.   
Lauren paused. "Sure." She smiled. Spending time with Adam outside of Bio lab was something she'd wanted to for a while, but she'd never gotten up the courage to ask him. It could be fun to meet his family.   
"Really?" He asked, his eyes lighting up. "Great!"   
Lauren smiled. "OK, do you know where I live?"   
Adam-Michael knew her address, but he lied so she wouldn't get freaked out. "No..can you give me directions?"   
"Sure. I live on Oakmont Drive, it's the street across from St. Matthew's Church, I live in the house all the way at the end of the street on the right. 831."   
"OK," Adam-Michael said, smiling. He knew exactly how to get there.   
"Well, I'll see you soon then." Lauren said.   
"Yeah, soon." Adam-Michael said, smiling.   
"Bye, Adam."   
"Bye, Lauren."   
Adam-Michael hung up the phone, and he felt he could take on the world- and whatever spirit was haunting him. Then he heard the icy voice echoing through his mind again.   
_ "Soon, Adam-Michael. Soon."_   
He squeezed his hands into his head until it hurt. "Stop it." He said calmly, running out of his room and slamming the door behind him.   


TBC... 


	2. Parts 5 through 9

  
**Solace, the sequel to "The Language of Longing"**   
**Parts 5-9**   
**by Meredith**   
**VG? Hell yes! ;)**   
****   
****

"Lauren! I'm home!" Sheriff Kyle Valenti called throughout the small ranch-style home he shared with his teenaged daughter. "Lauren?" He asked again, puzzled. The only sound permeating through the house was the echo of his own voice. He walked into the kitchen where he found a note written on a alien-shaped notepad resting on the kitchen table. He picked it up and raised his eyebrow as he read over the note's contents.

_"Dad, I've gone with Adam-Michael Evans to his cousin, Zachary Whitman's birthday party. I hope that's OK. I shouldn't be home too late. There's some leftover pizza in the fridge. I love you, Lauren."_

"Evans." Kyle muttered, shaking his head. He couldn't recall Max and Liz's son ever being mentioned by his daughter, and now he was taking her to a family party? Something was definitely off. Lauren was with the Evans, the Whitmans, and the Guerins-- the inseparable clan of outsiders that he was never able to figure out. They were upstanding citizens of the community, so he had no reason to believe they were up to no good. But if his daughter was involved with them now, then he would make it his business to find out what was going on.

"Valenti, get a hold of yourself." He said, chuckling under his breath. "High school is over." He couldn't believe that after all these years, he still questioned Max Evans. First he lost Liz's loyalty-then his father's-to the brooding, over-sensitive quiet loner that he had tried so hard to understand. He wasn't about to lose his only child to him too. He placed his father's favorite cowboy hat on top of his head and grabbed his car keys. He was going to pay his old friends a little visit.

* * * * *

"She's so beautiful." Isabel whispered to Maria as Adam-Michael and Lauren arrived at the Whitmans' home, bearing gifts for the birthday boy. Maria nodded, smiling.

"She got more than a few genes from her mother. I was always jealous of Vicky Delaney." Maria said as she and Isabel munched on carrot sticks around the table.

"Maria, we were babes in high school too..." Isabel said, smiling.

"Were? Hell's bells, Izzy, we still are!" Maria said, chuckling.

Adam-Michael was making the rounds through the sea of family members, trying to introduce Lauren to each one. Lauren leaned up on her tiptoes and cupped her hand around Adam's ear. He thought he would have a coronary right then and there.

"I really hope I remember all these names..." She whispered lightly.

"Hey, they're my flesh and blood and I still don't remember half of them..." Adam-Michael joked. Lauren smiled at him. "...But I do want you to meet my baby brothers. They are so awesome." He walked down the hallway of the Whitman home as Lauren followed closely behind.

"I just love babies." Lauren said, smiling. Adam-Michael slowly opened the door to Ryan's room and found the twins asleep in the playpen. Lauren put her hands to her mouth to keep from "awwing" too loud and waking them. "They're adorable!" She whispered almost inaudiably.

Adam-Michael kneeled down over the playpen and lightly touched the baby blue cuff on Matthew's outfit. "This is Matty." He then lightly brushed his finger over the light green back of Dylan's outfit. "...and this is Dylan." He whispered. Lauren smiled.

"Adam, they are precious." She said as they quietly left the room, shutting the door silently behind them. Adam-Michael just nodded and smiled. Lauren Michelle Valenti was standing before him, worshiping his kid brothers, mingling with his family... he didn't quite understand how or why this was happening. But he sure as hell didn't mind. They walked back into the kitchen where Isabel was putting six candles on Zachary's birthday cake.

"Oh, remember," Lauren said, pointing to the cake. "Seven...one to grow on, right?" Isabel smiled at her.

"Good suggestion. I can't believe I forgot that! Thanks, Lauren." Isabel said, pulling another candle out of the small box and adding it to the top of the cake. Alex smiled at her as he walked past Lauren and Adam-Michael to pull some matches out of the cabinet on top of the refridgerator. Adam-Michael fixed drinks for he and Lauren and they walked into the living room to talk to his parents. Max and Liz sat on one couch, Max with his arm around Liz, and Liz looking into his eyes lovingly.

"Are your parents always this sickingly cute?" Lauren whispered into his ear. Adam-Michael blushed and laughed. He was getting used to this Lauren-blowing-hot-breath-in-his-ear-thing...definitely. Lauren and Adam sat down on the opposite couch, facing his parents.

Liz smiled. "Lauren, it is so nice to finally meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Evans."

"You have your father's beautiful eyes..." Liz said, smiling.

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans." Lauren said, smiling and taking a sip of her Sprite.

Max smiled at her too. "And you have your Grandfather's smile."

Lauren raised her eyebrow. "You knew my Grandfather well? Adam-Michael never told me that."

Max sighed, pulling Liz closer to him. "Your Grandfather was a wonderful man. He saved us quite a few times." Adam smiled, knowing exactly what his father was talking about. Sheriff Jim Valenti, Lauren's grandfather, had found out about his father's secret and had saved him from being killed by a special unit in the FBI when he was only sixteen years old.

"I miss him a lot. He...passed away...just a couple of years ago." Lauren said, looking away to keep from crying.

"Yes, we know. We went to the funeral, sweetie." Liz said with a solemn look on her face. Lauren just quietly nodded and Adam-Michael looked over at her, wanting so desperately to reach out and touch her, tell her that everything was going to be ok....that he was here for her, that he was always here for her...

"Well, Lauren, how does your Dad like his job?" Max said, trying to change the subject.

Lauren smiled. "He loves it. I mean he's wanted to be the Sheriff all his life. He's really good at it. He cares about the people of our town so much. I'm very proud of him."

"As well you should be." Max said, smiling.

"So how do you two know each other?" Liz asked, motioning to Adam-Michael and Lauren.

"Bio lab." They said in unison. Giggles between them followed. Liz looked up at Max and smiled.

"That's funny, we were bio lab partners too..." Liz began, thinking back to high school.

"More like I did the work and she wrote everything down..." Max teased her. She playfully smacked his arm.

"Hey, buddy, I did more than my fair share of work! I pulled us out of more than a few jams if I do recall." Liz said. Max rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Sure, Lizzie, whatever you want to believe." Max said, winking at his son and Lauren. The younger twosome smiled at their general playfulness.

Jordana walked past the couches, arching an eyebrow at the blonde beauty who had so easily won her brother's affections. It was enough to make her barf.

"Jordibelle, come sit with us." Liz said, patting the seat next to her for her daughter to sit down. Jordana shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the couch with her parents.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jordana asked, snuggling into her mother's shoulder and yawning.

"Oh, nothing." Adam-Michael said.

"Bio lab." Lauren said.

"Cutting open frogs and seeing their insides. Yummy, huh?" Adam said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them quickly, with a wicked smile on his lips. Jordana went sheet white.

"Eeew! You actually had to DO that?" Jordana asked, wrinkling her nose.

"That's exactly what I said when I had to do it, Jordana!" Lauren said, smiling. Jordana paused as the older people around her continued to talk. She rolled her eyes while the new girl wasn't looking and soon felt a warm tingling heat flow through her brain. She looked up from her Mom's shoulder to see her older brother was looking at her with daggers in his eyes.

"Don't start." Adam-Michael mouthed to his sister calmly. Jordana kept his gaze for a moment and then returned her head to Liz's shoulder. Lauren didn't even notice this exchange between the otherworldly siblings as she and Max continued to discuss their mutual dislike of dissections.

Liz smiled as she watched Adam-Michael look at Lauren with such longing and love in his eyes. She reminded him so much of Max at that moment. She knew that they would soon have to tell Max about Adam-Michael's premonitions. She was dreading that moment.

It would devastate him.

* * * * *

"What *do* you plan on doing exactly? You can't just waltz in their house and not have a plan." Nasedo said to Tess as they creeped through the bushes surrounding the Evans' front porch.

"I don't know... I thought maybe I'd sit on the porch for a while, breathe in the crisp, cool air...isn't it a beautiful night, Nasedo?" Tess said, claiming a spot in a rocking chair and closing her piercing blue eyes, taking in the clear star-filled night.

Nasedo rolled his eyes. "My name is Jessica, OK? You never know when they will come home, you need to be careful of what you say...we have to get in there and get out... you can't screw around...there's no time, Tessa..." The twosome slowly climbed onto the front porch. It was a little harder for Tess, considering she was still in the body of a pregnant woman.

"Look, I can handle this, OK? We'll go inside, plant the necessary information, and leave." Tess said calmly as Nasedo put his hand over the doorknob. They heard the lock slide open and they knew the door was open. Tess couldn't help but feel a pain stabbing in her heart. This was the house Max and Adam-Michael shared with Liz. The perfect Liz Parker. The girl who got in the way of her destiny...her only reason for living.

The woman who stole her child.

"Tess! Focus!" Nasedo said, motioning to a bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Here... here are the things you wanted me to bring..." Tess wasn't listening. She walked slowly through the kitchen, gliding one finger over the counter and letting it rest finally on a nearby table.

"I bet this is where they eat breakfast every morning. Do you think she's a good cook, Nasedo?" Tess asked, her gaze drifting to a nearby wall. "I bet Max likes her cooking. I bet my Adam and the little mutt children love her cooking, too... I bet they have fun here, I bet they have nice long talks here... she, my love, my son..."

Nasedo realized Tess was in a completely different place, not listening to a word coming out of his mouth. He sighed. "Tess, you can't do this. Don't dwell on what's happening now. Focus on the future."

"My future, right." Tess said, snapping herself back into reality. A stray piece of auburn hair slid down her face from the loose ponytail on top of her head.

"Soon you will be in your own body again and you will have what belongs to you...and there will be nothing to stop us."

Tess looked into his eyes and tried to hold back the tears forming in her deep blue spheres. She wanted to sigh, to speak, anything...but the tears threatened to fall and she couldn't show signs of weakness. She wouldn't let Liz Parker win again. "Let's do what we came here to do and be gone. This place is giving me the creeps."

Nasedo reached out and touched Tess's shoulder lightly. She drew herself back from him quickly and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Just give me the pictures." She said, reaching out her hand.

Nasedo nodded, placing three pictures in Tess's shaking palm. They were small pictures of Tess with a four-year-old Adam-Michael smiling at her side. She tried not to look at them too long, but suddenly felt the routine stinging starting from the pit of her stomach, working its way up into her heart. She swore she could feel the child inside this unfamiliar body start to move inside her.

Nasedo noticed Tess's distress at looking at the pictures and tried to take them out of her hand.

"No." Tess said firmly, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I'm doing this. You take the ones to put in the... other... children's rooms, I'll go into Max and Adam's rooms."

Nasedo looked at her for a moment, questioning Tess's desire to hurt herself even more by taking a tour of Max and Liz's bedroom. He didn't have time to stop her. She was already inside the master bedroom of the house, her heart stilling at the sight.

Tess moved slowly but surely through the room, sitting down onto the unmade bed. She laid back and for a moment, could imagine Max lying warm beside her. She pulled one of the pillows off the bed and clutched it to her face. She breathed deeply, inhaling the scent that was purely Max Evans. She turned her attention to the set of pictures lying on the nightstand next to the side of the bed. Her eyes began watering at the sight of Max, Liz, a five-year-old Adam-Michael, and a newborn Jordana at Max and Liz's wedding. They had renewed their vows in a small ceremony in the New Mexico desert. Tess recognized the background cliff formation. They had gotten married near the pod chamber.

Tess threw the picture against the wall, making a loud crashing sound and causing pieces of splintered glass to fly all around the room. "You BITCH!" She screamed, knocking the rest of the pictures off the nightstand, causing each one to fly to the ground in an explosion of broken glass.

Nasedo ran into the room from down the hall, arms waving in the air in anger. "Tessa! What are you doing? Are you crazy? We can't make them too suspicious!"

"This should be MY house! OUR children! This whole family, this whole marriage is a sham! A lie! Max is mine! He always was mine!" Tess said, falling back onto the bed and burying her contorted face in the sheets.

"I know that, Tess. I've risked my life to help bring Max to you...I won't let you screw this up!" Nasedo screamed, yanking her off the bed by grabbing her auburn ponytail. Tess screamed in pain. "Get up! Put the pictures where they need to be and we'll leave!" Tess continued to cry as Nasedo left the room. She kissed each picture before placing one in Max's top drawer, one in the drawer of Liz's nightstand, and one on the mirror, wedged between a baby picture of Jordana and a picture of an eight-year-old Adam-Michael posing with a soccer ball.

"When I'm finished with you Elizabeth Parker, you'll wish you never met Max Evans." Tess said coldly, summoning her powers and punching her fist at the mirror, causing the entire mirror to crack and shatter. The hatred she felt for Liz poured out of her fist and caused the glass to melt into liquid all over the dresser. "It's almost over." She repeated to herself, doing some deep breathing exercises as she walked out of the now-trashed room, shutting the door behind her and going to find Nasedo.

* * * * *

"Well, well, well...if it isn't my favorite man of the law, Kyle Valenti." Maria said, opening the door to the Whitmans' house with a smile. Kyle smiled back at her, removing his hat and motioning to the inside of the house.

"Hello, Maria. Long time, no see." Kyle said.

"I could say the same for you, too, Sheriff. Would you like to come in?" Maria asked, opening the door a little wider to allow Kyle entrance into the house. "Your daughter is working that Valenti charm on my nephew over there..." She said, pointing to the living room where Adam-Michael, Lauren, Max and Liz were still engrossed in conversation. Kyle raised his eyebrow at this scenario but pressed forward.

Kyle smiled at the mention of Lauren. "She is wonderful, isn't she?" He asked, motioning to her. Isabel and Alex made their way into the kitchen to greet Kyle.

"Well, Kyle Valenti, it's so nice to see you!" Isabel said, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a friendly welcoming hug. Alex extended his hand for a handshake.

"Sheriff Valenti, it's been ages." Alex said, smiling politely.

"Yeah, I know Whitman...it's been crazy down in the department lately...we've had some unexplained homicides, a couple of armed robberies, some cases of grand theft auto..." Kyle said as his daughter breezed into the kitchen with a grin. She playfully poked her dad in the ribs.

"Is my Dad boring you with the Roswell crime report again?" Lauren asked, smiling. "I told him not to do that at parties."

Kyle smiled half-heartedly at his daughter who seemed to fit in so well with this elusive family. He hated to admit it, but it scared him. He couldn't figure out why, until his reason walked slowly into the kitchen.

"Hello, Sheriff Valenti. It's been a long time." Max said, flashing a half smile and extending his hand towards Kyle's with Liz and Adam-Michael by his side.

Kyle hesitated and looked around at the circle of his high school classmates. He finally returned Max's handshake and unconsciously pulled his daughter closer to him.

"Why, yes, Evans. Yes it has."

* * * * *   


"Man, so you guys were all living in Boston for five years? Together?" Kyle asked, sipping on the Bud Light offered to him by Alex and Isabel. He was sitting on the couch between his daughter and Max's son, serving as a barrier between them. "It's too cold there. And, man, do I hate the Red Sox."

"I'd be a little quiet about the hating the Red Sox thing...Max is kind of a die-hard fan now." Isabel said as she played with Ryan on the floor nearby. Max playfully gave Kyle a molten stare.

"The Sox are a religion to me, I know it's weird." Max replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Never picked you out as the jock type, Evans." Kyle said, turning a questioning gaze to the quiet soul sitting across from him.

"Well, we've all changed a lot, Kyle." Liz replied, smiling, sitting on the other couch with Maria and Max, who were each holding a baby.

"Those little buggers are cute, I hate to admit it..." Kyle said, smiling, and reaching out his pointer finger towards Matthew, who was sitting snugly in Maria's lap. Matty instinctively grabbed on to the Sheriff's finger tightly. Liz and Max smiled. "I can still remember when Lauren was that age... she was so cute, with all that blonde hair..."

Lauren rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hands, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. "Dad, stop it."

Kyle smiled, pulling his finger away from Matty's firm grip. "Stopping."

Liz smiled at Kyle's easiness with his daughter. Before tonight, she never saw him as the "Dad" type. But now that she's seen how he is with Lauren, as well as her own children, she knew she couldn't have been more wrong about him.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Kyle sat back, easing himself into the soft cushions of the couch. He casually wrapped his arm around his daughter and turned to Adam-Michael.

"So, Adam-Michael... I don't think we've ever met. I'm Sheriff Valenti." He extended an outstretched hand to the teenage boy sitting next to him.

Adam-Michael hesitated, then tentatively shook the hand offered by Lauren's father. "I don't believe so either. It's nice to meet you, sir."

"It's so wild that you and my Lauren have become good friends so quickly... you know your parents and I go way back..." Kyle said, winking at Liz.

Adam-Michael stifled his laughter and nodded. "Yeah, actually, Mom told me today that you used to date."

Kyle laughed too. "Yeah, but that was a long time ago. We were kids... about your age, would you say, Lizzie?"

Max scrunched his face as he heard Kyle call his wife "Lizzie". He sure was getting comfortable real quick. Max didn't understand why after all these years he was still wary of Kyle. Max always thought Kyle had a hidden agenda, and that would probably never change.

"Yeah," Liz managed to say after the inital shock of hearing him call her "Lizzie." He hadn't done that since they were sophomores in high school. Kyle stole a glance at Max, who was looking at him with concern in his eyes. Did he know where this line of questioning was going? It was making him uncomfortable. Kyle chuckled subconsiously. He loved seeing Evans squirm.

"So..." Kyle pressed on. "You're about 16, right, Adam-Michael?"

"Will be in December, sir." Adam-Michael replied firmly.

"Only a couple months older than my Lauren. Lauren was born the year after we graduated from high school. So I guess you were too, huh?" Kyle asked. He turned to Liz. "I had no idea you were even pregnant, Liz... not that I blame you for not telling me, I seem to recall we weren't on very good terms back then." Liz turned to Max with alarm in her eyes. Adam-Michael's eyes grew wider. This exchange between the three eldest members of the Evans' clan didn't go unnoticed by the Sheriff. He arched his eyebrow. "Is something the matter? I mean, I did the math correctly, didn't I? If Adam-Michael was born in December of 2002, then you would have had to been pregnant in March of 2002, right? When we were still seniors?"

Max tried to stand up from the couch and remind Kyle to mind his own business when Liz grabbed his arm, pulling him back down to the soft cushions with a thud. Kyle noticed Max's face flushing with anger, the resentment pouring from his eyes. This didn't go unnoticed by Adam and Lauren. They looked at each other painfully behind Kyle, who was leaning forward on the couch. Lauren couldn't explain it, but just looking into Adam-Michael's eyes for a split second made her realize something was very wrong.

"Kyle." Liz said calmly. "Max and I weren't together during our senior year, or our junior year for that matter..." Max turned to her, pleading with her not to say anything. With her eyes, she reassured him everything would be all right. He would find out the truth about Adam-Michael's mother eventually.

Kyle gasped, suddenly remembering. He smiled sarcastically. "That's right, Evans... I forgot, you dog, you. First you stole Liz from me, then you stole that cute little Tess from me too... I can't believe I forgot about that." Adam-Michael's eyes grew wide as he felt his mother's presence wash over him again. He could feel her tingling in his brain.

_ *See, Adam, someone remembers me... Love me, Adam. Love me."_

Adam-Michael's brown eyes shot open and he jumped off the couch like a rocket. He ran out of the living room, into the kitchen and out of the front door.

"Adam!" Lauren cried, running after him. Liz and Max looked at each other with terror. Liz knew that something was happening to Adam again. She wanted to run out there and hold him close to her, but she knew she had to stay here and run interference with the lifelong rivals._ *Lauren's watching over him,* _Liz thought to herself. _*He'll be fine.*_

"What's wrong with your kid, Evans? Did I say something to upset him?" Kyle asked with a look of concern.

"Kyle... I would appreciate it if you not ask anymore questions about Tess Harding around Adam-Michael... or any of us for that matter." Liz said calmly. She squeezed Max's hand. Tears were forming in his eyes.

"Okay." Kyle said quietly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset anyone, I was just... curious."

"It's NONE of your business, Kyle." Max said, his tears threatening to overcome him. Kyle looked into Max's eyes, then to Liz's.

Then it dawned on him.

"_Tess Harding _ is Adam-Michael's mother, not you, am I right, Liz?" Kyle asked, arching his eyebrow. "Wow." Kyle said as Liz nodded slowly. "What happened to her?"

Max was getting very annoyed. "It's a long story, Kyle... she died ten years ago. She was in a car accident."

"But you and Liz have been married ten years, right? What about Tess?" Kyle asked. He didn't mean any harm by the questioning. He was a policeman, it was in his blood. He didn't realize the hurt he was causing Liz until it was too late. The tears were forming in her eyes and her bottom lip was quivering. He felt like the scum of the earth for making Liz Parker... Liz Evans... cry.

"I'm only going to say this once. Then Tess will never again be brought up around me, my wife, or my kids again, do you understand me?" Max said, with fire in his eyes.

"Are you threatening me, Evans?" Kyle asked, sitting forward on the couch and glaring at Max.

"You're threatening my family, so yeah." Max said, pursing his face into a delibrate scowl. Kyle glared at him, sitting back on the couch. "Tess and I broke up at the end of our senior year. Liz and I went to Boston University together and got married. I didn't know Tess had Adam-Michael until ten years ago."

Kyle's jaw dropped. "You missed the first five years of his life? Rough. There must have been a reason she did that."

"Yeah, there was. But I've said it before, Kyle. It's NONE of your business. Now I don't want to have to ask you to leave, because your daughter has been such delightful company. So please, I'm begging you, don't bring up Tess anymore. She's gone. She's not coming back." Max replied, soothing Liz, who was crying on his shoulder.

The last phrase he uttered..._"She's not coming back"_...burned in Liz's ears. Her eyes grew bigger until she looked like a frightened child. She clasped onto Max's sleeve until she was almost scratching his skin.

"Fine, Evans." Kyle said, turning his attention from Max to an obviously frightened Liz. "Look, I didn't mean to upset you..."

"You didn't know... it's OK, Kyle." Liz said reassuringly. Kyle just nodded, getting up from the couch to go talk to the others who were surrounding the kitchen table.

Max felt his heart swell for his wife. She was so forgiving, so loving, so caring, even to those who had hurt her. He instinctively pulled her tighter into his arms until she was almost in his lap. Tears began to fall from his own eyes. He felt like he was trying in vain to protect his wife from some invisible force threatening to harm them all... if only he knew what it was and how he could fight it.   


* * * * *

"Adam, Adam, please wait!" Lauren cried. She ran out of the door to the Whitmans home and found Adam-Michael in the front yard, curled up on a porch swing which had been set up in a garden surrounded by countless beautiful flowers of all colors and sizes. Isabel and Max's mother had done the garden for the Whitmans as a housewarming present.

"God, you must think I'm such a weirdo. I'm sorry." He said, getting up to leave the bench. She reached out and grabbed his arm.

"No...stay, Adam. Please?" She gently pulled on his arm, causing an electric shock to course throughout his body. He looked down at her blue eyes, gasping inwardly. She had the face of an angel, and here she was, asking HIM to sit with HER. This must be a dream. Maybe his mother is playing mind games with him again...His feet nearly betrayed him as he sat down. His legs were shaking violently. He hugged them to his chest again, resting his forehead on his knees. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Adam-Michael was silent. He looked into her eyes for a moment then turned back to his knees.

"I'm a really good listener." Lauren said, smiling, putting her hand on his knee.

_*Dear Lord,*_ Adam-Michael thought. _*Please don't let this be a dream, please don't let this be a dream...*_ "I just don't want to burden you...with my problems."

"Adam-Michael, you're not burdening me. You're my friend, and I want to help you. I hate to see you feeling so awful. What can I do?" She asked, sighing. He took a deep breath and went for it.

"OK." Adam-Michael said, slowly exhaling. "I can't believe I've never told anyone this before...no one knows this- well no one outside my family."

Lauren returned her hand to Adam's knee, this time, grabbing his hand. "Go ahead."

"Elizabeth Evans, my mother, well she's...not...my real mother." Adam-Michael said firmly. He was surprised to hear himself say the words out loud.

"She's not?" Lauren asked, tilting her head to the side with bewilderment.

"No." Adam-Michael said. He wanted to blurt out, _*my mother's an alien, and my father's an alien, oh, and by the way, I am too!*_ "My real mother... she was killed... when I was five."

"Oh, Adam." Lauren said, bringing her hand to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry..." Her eyes flooded with tears and Adam-Michael's heart sank.

"Oh, God, Lauren...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!" He said, instinctively wrapping his arms around her. He had never hugged her before. He could hold her forever.

She pulled away from the hug after a few moments and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "It's not that, it's just... my Mom's dead too..."

Adam-Michael gasped. "I didn't know!"

Lauren nodded. "Yeah. She left us when I was five. She cheated on my Dad with some UNM football player... she left us and then a year later she was killed in a car wreck."

"Lauren," Adam said, pulling her back into his arms. "I'm so sorry..."

"I just wish we'd talked about this sooner...it would have been nice to have had someone to talk to... someone in the same situation." She replied.

Adam-Michael took a deep breath and looked into her crystal blue eyes. "Well... we have each other now."

Lauren paused, searching his eyes with her own. She had always thought he was cute, and one of the sweetest guys at West Roswell. But it wasn't until that moment that she recognized his immense inner beauty as well.

"Yeah." She managed to whisper out. Her tears seemed to fade as a smile spread across both their faces.

* * * * *

The ride home to the Evans' house was silent. Jordana had ridden home with Adam-Michael, their parents following behind in the Jeep Cherokee with the sleeping twins strapped safely in the backseat.

"So when are we going to talk about this...whatever you wanted to talk about earlier?" Max said quietly, squeezing her hand that he held in her lap as he drove. He briefly took his eyes off the road to look into his wife's eyes. She was too busy staring out of the window in silence. "Liz?"

"Oh," She said, startled. "Yeah, we can talk about it when we get home... it's about..."

Max's heart pounded fiercely in his chest. "It's about...her... isn't it?"

Liz looked at him in silence. She didn't say another word, he knew what she was thinking.

She was terrified.

* * * * *

"I'm never riding in the car with you again, Adam-Michael!" Jordana cried, giggling. Adam-Michael tried to hide his flushed cheeks.

"What? What did I do?" He asked as they filed out of his Honda Accord onto their driveway.

"Because, all you did was talk about your *girlfriend* the whole way!" Jordana said, teasing him.

"She's not... my girlfriend, OK? We're just...friends."

"Sure. And I don't like boy bands." Jordana said. Adam-Michael rolled his eyes and quickly picked his little sister up, throwing her over his shoulder. Jordana squealed with delight, banging her fists on his back as their parents drove up in the driveway. Max couldn't help but smile at their playfulness. He looked over to Liz to see if she was witnessing the fun, too.

Her eyes were tightly closed, her eyelids twitching ever so slightly as fat, warm tears escaped from them. He gently placed his hand on her left cheek. "Angel. We're home."

She opened her eyes and wiped her tears with her hand. She nodded silently, opening the car door and going to the back of the car to take a sleeping Dylan out of his car seat and back into her arms. Max picked up Matthew and they headed towards the front of the house, Jordana and Adam-Michael a few steps ahead of them. Liz relished the feel of the warm baby snuggled close to her neck. She held him tightly as he squirmed a little at the change in location. The baby yawned, breathing into Liz's neck and she felt a wave of tears rush over her.

If she were to lose him, she'd die.

At that moment, she felt sympathy for Tess...the woman who lost her only child... the woman who tried to take her baby girl away from her so many years ago. Would she do it again?

Jordana's piercing scream broke Liz out of her reverie. "Mom! Dad!" She screamed as she and Adam-Michael opened the door to the house.

Max quickly ran up the steps, closing the last feet between he and his oldest son. "What? What is it?" He cried.

"Someone was here... look!" Jordana cried, pointing to the living room. The pictures on the mantel had all been knocked down, the glass scattered all over the carpet. Chairs had been overturned, papers ripped off the refridgerator, glasses broken all over the floor. Max and Liz looked at the scene in shock. Adam-Michael closed his eyes, putting his hands over his ears as they throbbed in pain.

"She was here." He said firmly, his voice unwavering. "She's alive!" Liz felt her legs give out, but luckily, she grabbed onto the kitchen table to keep from falling over. She felt all the air escape from her lungs. Jordana began crying. Adam-Michael ran up the stairs, looking for something he could feel she'd left in his room, but not sure what that would be...

"Mom, who's here...Mom?" Jordana said, rushing over to her Mom, who was sinking slowly to the floor, a sleeping Dylan in her arms. "Mommy!" She cried, throwing her arms around Liz. Jordana felt an inborn fear of Tess Harding, after everything she'd done to try to keep her from coming into the world. It was instinctual. Jordana saw that her mother was unresponsive, she was too busy crying and rocking Dylan. She turned to her father, who was still in shock at what Adam-Michael seemed to so desperately believe. "Daddy! Daddy, help me, I'm scared! Daddy?" Max could do nothing but wrap his free arm around his only daughter, pulling her tightly to him, kissing the top of her head. Salty tears dropped freely from his eyes onto her soft brown hair. How was this happening? It was over so long ago, they had been so happy...free of Tess, free of Nasedo... free of deception and fear...

His mind turned to one thing.

Theresa Bingham.

* * * * *

"Maria, can you grab another trash bag for me, hon? They're under the sink." Isabel said, picking up various paper plates and cups strewn around her living room, the last remnants of her son Zachary's birthday party. Maria nodded, walking into the kitchen and coming back with a large white bag. "Maria, you don't have to stay, you know. Go home to your kids."

"Oh, stop it! Do you think I want to put whiny Miss Parker Marie to bed? I'll let Michael take care of that one tonight." Maria said, smiling, helping Isabel put trash in the bag. A squealing echoed through the house and Isabel sighed.

"Ryan. I hate the terrible twos." Isabel said, dropping the bag to the floor.

"You go help Alex, I'll finish this." Maria said, reaching for the bag.

"No, it's OK. My husband's a big boy. He can handle it." Isabel said, smiling. The crying continued to grow louder and louder, even while Alex's soothing voice tried to calm his baby son. Maria and Isabel continued to clean up the living room and the kitchen as Michaela walked solemnly into the room.

"Mom..." She said, her voice cracking and her eyes filled with tears. Isabel dropped the trash bag she was holding and ran over to her daughter with concern.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Isabel asked, searching her daughter's eyes for answers.

"Something's...wrong..." Michaela said, closing her eyes, her head aching fiercely. Maria ran over to them when she saw that her niece was in pain.

"What's wrong, Michaela, honey?" Maria asked her, placing her hand on Michaela's shoulder.

"Something's wrong...Jordana...she's hurting...something's wrong..." Michaela kept repeating, her eyes shut tight and the tears flowing freely from them. Isabel leaned down closer to her daughter, taking her face in her hands.

"Michaela, you have to calm down. What is wrong with Jordana?" Isabel said, her voice wavering with emotion.

"I don't know...there's just...something...I can feel it. Ryan can feel it...that's why he's crying!" Michaela said, crying. "I'm worried about them, Mom!" She flung her arms around her mother and Isabel was bombarded with images of chaos, anger, fear, and confusion.

"Max!" Isabel screamed as she felt herself fall to the ground, letting go of her daughter and landing softly on the carpeted living room floor. She closed her eyes and she could see her brother and his family running around their trashed house, looking with disbelief at what had happened. She could see her nephew Adam running up the stairs into his bedroom and finding a small picture of his real mother and himself when he was just a little boy... before he came to live with his father and Liz. The flash ended and Isabel looked into Michaela's eyes. She knew her daughter was feeling the same overwhelming presence...

... the fear of Tess Harding.

She had felt it when she was only a little baby, when Tess had tried to hurt their family the first time... when Michaela was only an infant. Maria ran over to Isabel, wrapping her arms around her best friend as she shook violently.

"Babe! Izzy, what's wrong?" Maria asked her. "Is it Max? Liz? Oh, God, what happened to them?" Isabel looked into her eyes, a cold expression radiating in her brown ones. Michaela knew that her Mom needed help. She ran into the bathroom where her father was giving her baby brother a bath.

Ryan was still screaming. Michaela reached her hand out, touching the top of his head. He immediately calmed down. "Dad- Mom needs you, something's wrong with Uncle Max and Aunt Liz..."

"What?" Alex cried, looking at his eldest child in alarm. He grabbed Ryan out of the tub, quickly wrapping a towel around him as he walked out of the bathroom into the living room to find his wife crumbled to the floor. Maria was cradling her in her arms. "Isabel!" He cried, rushing over to her. He kneeled down to them, handing Ryan to Maria and taking Isabel into his warm embrace. He tried his hardest to soothe her cries. "What is wrong...Izzy, baby, what's the matter?"

Isabel looked into his eyes. A look of surprise washed over her.

"It's Tess... she's... she's alive."

* * * * *

"No...I won't believe it. It's not true, Max...it's all just a big misunderstanding..." Liz said, pacing around her bedroom with Matthew cradled in her arms. She refused to leave any of her children alone for even a second. Adam-Michael was clutching Dylan tightly to his chest and Jordana was curled up in Max's lap on the bed. In the thirty minutes that had passed since they had returned home to find their home in shambles, Max and Adam-Michael had managed to clean up most of the broken glass in the living room, the kitchen, and all the bedrooms. They decided not to let Liz do that job... seeing the pictures of her most precious family and friends just tossed on the floor in a messy, broken heap like that would just send her into a tailspin of anxiety.

And she was already anxious enough for all six of them.

"Liz," Max said quietly, rubbing Jordana's long brown hair until she fell asleep. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you... to any of us. We just have to be...careful from now on." He said, eyeing his oldest son, who was lying in the rocking chair, his eyes closed, his baby brother stretched out on his chest and asleep as well. "We trust no one. She could be anyone at anytime."

Liz's eyes lit up with sheer terror. "Max, you don't mean..."

"Liz...we saw her die." Max lowered his voice to a whisper so their children wouldn't have to hear the morbid conversation. "How else could she be back? She lost her human body, Liz... she can't live here on earth in her alien one..."

"So she's like...Nasedo now?" Liz asked, shuddering. She remembered ten years ago how Nasedo had pretended to be her best friend Morgan in order to get close to her and to kill an unborn Jordana.

Max looked at her with sad eyes. It was killing him to know she was so desperately afraid, and it was his fault. He still couldn't believe that Tess was back... and that meant Nasedo wasn't far behind.

"Come here, love." He whispered to her, beckoning her to come to him. Her bottom lip began quivering and tears began forming once more in her deep brown eyes. She and the baby curled up in Max's free arm. He kissed the top of both of their heads and smiled. She gently laid the sleeping baby on Max's chest. He barely stirred. Max smiled down at Matty, whose tiny body was rising and falling with each breath he took. Liz looked up into her husband's eyes, placing her hand on the side of his face and kissing him. After breaking away, he rested his forehead on her own. "We'll get through this. I love you."

"I love you." She said, burying her face in his neck and allowing herself to relax. Their blissful rest was interrupted by the sound of Adam's voice penetrating through the sound of six bodies slowly breathing...

"Mother!" He cried, waking up from his nap and jolting forward in the chair, still holding Dylan tightly to him. Liz and Max immediately woke up.

"Adam?" Liz said, leaving Max's arms to run to her son's. "What's the matter? What did you see?"

"Oh, God, Mom..." Adam-Michael said, finally breaking down. He wrapped his arms around her neck and began crying loudly. "I won't let her hurt you, I won't..."

"Son, it's not your fault..." Max said from across the room.

"Adam-Michael..." She said, rubbing his soft brown hair and kissing Dylan's tiny head. She grabbed her eldest son's arm, willing him to stand up. "Come on, there's room for you." Adam didn't reply, he just followed his Mom's orders and laid on the bed with his family, his head barely touching Jordana's stomach, his baby brother lying on top of his chest. Max looked lovingly at his family nestled safely in his arms.

Nasedo and Tess and the rest of the world be damned- his wife and children were his number one priority. He would do anything to protect them.

"Max! Liz!" The voice echoed through the house, disturbing their peaceful silence.

Isabel.

"Liz! Max! Are you all right?"

Maria.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Michael.

"Max! Liz! Kids! Are you OK?"

Alex.

Liz looked up at Max and smiled with relief.

They knew something was wrong. They had come to help them.

"We're in our bedroom!" Max called out, biting his lip when he realized he'd woken up Jordana. "I'm sorry, sweetie..." He whispered. "Go back to sleep."

Jordana's brown eyes fluttered open, then closed again. She snuggled even tighter into her father's arms until her face was buried in his neck. She was terrified.

Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Alex filed one by one into the room, followed by the Guerin clan and the Whitman brood. They were all taken aback by the disarray of the neat freaks' normally perfect bedroom.

"Shit, Maxwell." Michael said under his breath. Maria smacked his arm.

"*Children* in the *room*, spaceboy!" She replied in shock. Isabel rushed over to her brother and his wife.

"Are you all right? What happened?" Isabel asked frantically.

"Isabel...how did you know to come?" Liz asked, a calm smile on her face.

"Ryan started crying hysterically, then Michaela came in and said she felt that Jordana was in trouble... then I got flashes of...your house...oh, Max... I'm so sorry." She said, reaching in between the many bodies lying on the bed to get to her brother's hand.

"It's okay, Isabel. It's okay now. She's gone." Max said softly, calming his wife's occasional sobs with the touch of his hand.

"For now." Michael finished, searching around the room for any clues as to who was really here. His eye caught the melted glass that used to be Liz's mirror on her dresser. Lying in the pool was one of the pictures that Tess and Nasedo had planted. Michael picked it up, in awe of seeing his sister's face for the first time in years. He had burned all her pictures ten years ago... he still blamed himself for her death.

He held the photograph and concentrated on getting information from it.

_*Someone moving slowly up the stairs, into Liz and Max's bedroom.*_   
_ *Someone ripping pictures off the wall, scattering picture frames stood up on the nightstands, ripping sheets off the bed and lying beneath them in a pathetic ball.*_   
_ *The mysterious figure moving towards the mirror, placing the picture of Tess and Adam-Michael on it.*_   
_ *The reflection of the person is finally shown. She is taller than Tess was, with auburn hair and piercing blue eyes. And she's very pregnant.*_

Michael broke away from the flash and his family looked at him with awe.

"Michael... what did you see?" Max asked him.

Michael paused, holding the picture of Tess and Adam-Michael up for everyone to see. "I saw someone put this picture on the mirror. It wasn't Tess... she had dark hair, a totally different face, and she was pregnant..."

Max's heart jumped into his throat. He jumped to his feet, handing the baby to Liz and moving to the other side of the room. He began pacing around violently. She picked up the baby and moved across the room towards him. He turned around when he saw her following him and wrapped his arms instinctually around her, letting his hands rest on her womb, which had carried life not too long before...

"Honey, what's the matter?" Liz asked, a look of concern washing over the sadness and terror in her eyes. Isabel, Maria, Michael, and Alex all stood around the couple, waiting for his answer.

"I know her." Max croaked out to the others. "She is one of my patients."

"What?" Everyone in the room screamed in unison. Michaela and the other children walked over to the bed and curled up with their cousins, not realizing the importance of what their parents were talking about. Liz turned her head around to look at him with tears in her eyes once more.

"Why didn't you...tell me?" She cried.

Max's face scrunched up with pain. "Because I wasn't sure... not until now. She was in our *home*, Liz. I don't know how it happened, but she's really Tess... her name is...Theresa Bingham."

"Tessa-Theresa. How convienient. God, she pisses me off! Why doesn't she just die already? Why can't she just leave us all alone?" Maria said quietly, rolling her eyes. Alex put his arm protectively around Maria.

Alex looked at them all in confusion. "Now, wait a minute. So she died, now she's back from the dead, and she's in a different body? How the HELL did that happen? I mean, I thought you guys couldn't do that... you know, shapeshift or whatever?"

Isabel took her husband's hand and turned to face him. "We can't, Alex."

"Maybe when Tess died, she lost her human body, but..." Max began, burying his face into Liz's hair.

"The alien inside remained." Michael said quietly, staring off into space at no one in particular. Maria shuddered at the dark timbre in her husband's voice. For a split second, he frightened her. Evan walked up to his parents then, tugging on his mother's arm.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, Evan?" Maria said, leaning down to her son's eye level.

"Are you OK?" He asked quietly. All his aunts and uncles were looking at him with concern and it was freaking him out.

Maria half-smiled. "Yes, sweetie. Everything's fine. Why don't you and the other kids go in Adam-Michael's room and play?"

"NO!" Liz cried, breaking out of Max's embrace. Her eyes were on fire. The rest of the adults gave her questioning looks. Max pulled her back into his arms as she quietly explained. "No. I mean, I want all the kids here...where we can see them... who knows if..."

"Liz, you've got to calm down. She's gone. Nothing is going to happen to anyone." Michael said firmly.

"Calm DOWN? You want me to calm down, Michael?" Liz said, gritting her teeth together in frustration and anger. She instinctively tucked the baby tighter into her arms.

"Oh, jeez, now you've done it, Michael..." Alex said under his breath. Isabel nudged him to keep quiet.

"...the woman who tried to kill me AND my daughter JUST trashed my home, and you expect me to be calm? How dare you say that to me!" Liz yelled, causing the baby in her arms to begin stirring and crying as well.

"Liz, stop it, okay? It's not going to help any of us to fight about this. We have to stick together." Max said sternly.

"Now, more than ever." Isabel said quietly, reaching out to touch Liz's hand. Adam-Michael stood up from the bed and walked over to his parents.

"Mom." He said quietly. "I can take the kids in my room, it's fine."

"Adam, no..." She replied, pleading with him. "I'm just afraid..."

"Liz, how about if I stay in there with them? They don't need to hear all this fighting. It isn't good for them." Alex said firmly.

Liz turned to look into Max's eyes. He nodded in approval and she did the same. Alex left the circle and rounded up the kids.

"Come on kids, we're going into Adam's room..."

"Yes! Playstation 4!" Evan cried, pumping his arms in excitement.

"Only if Adam-Michael says it's ok..." Maria warned her son as Alex and the mass of children left the room. Max walked over to his son before he left the room.

"Here, let me have him... you have fun." Max asked, extending his arms to take baby Dylan from Adam. Adam-Michael hugged his dad.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Son."

Isabel smiled. "Michaela seems to have calmed down considerably since she saw Jordana."

Liz and Max smiled. "Yeah, Jordana was a wreck until you guys got here."

"They're like the closest thing to a sister each other has." Isabel said, smiling. "Cause we sure as hell aren't having anymore kids..."

Max and Liz smiled, looking down and their babies and each other. They weren't so sure about that one.

"OK, enough sweet talk. We need a plan." Michael said firmly.

"I agree. We can't let it get out of control like we did last time." Maria piped in.

"Oh, and that's MY fault, Maria? Everything's MY fault, isn't it? Tess has come back to kill our family again and it's MY fault?" Liz cried, the anger bright in her eyes.

"Liz, no one is saying this is your fault--" Isabel said.

"And who says that Tess is here to kill you? You're being kind of paranoid, don't you think?" Michael said, fuming.

"Michael, I think Liz has a good reason to be upset." Max said calmly.

"Oh, and you're taking her side-- typical." Michael replied.

"YES, typical. Dammit, Michael, she's my wife!" Max cried. Dylan woke up and began squealing. He began walking around the room with the baby, bouncing him gently and singing lightly in his ear.

"Michael-- Liz went through hell the last time Tess was here..." Maria began.

"We all did." Isabel added in, walking over towards her brother to help him calm the baby.

"...We need to all make sure that she and the kids are protected this time... we can't let her get to them again." Maria finished.

"We won't." Max said firmly. "I'll kill her--and Nasedo. Both of them."

"Max, you're not killing anyone!" Michael cried, anger rising up in him. "They're our people, Max." He walked towards Max, trying to get in his face.

"Michael, that argument is getting really tired." Max said in anger. "Don't preach to me about how she's one of our own, how when we lost her we each lost part of ourselves-- I tried to make it work with her many, many years ago. She is not like us, Michael. I will not be associated with something as evil as her."

"Stop it! Both of you!" Isabel said, putting a hand on each of her brother's chests' and separating them. "Tess is here now. We have to do something about it." Liz's eyes began filling with tears. She broke away silently from the rest of the bickering group and lied down on the bed she shared with her husband. She gently placed her sleeping baby on his back and curled her entire body around him. She placed her hand on his stomach, relishing in the feel of his chest rising and falling. The arguing and yelling swirled around her, but she didn't notice. Being with her baby was the only thing that mattered at that moment.

Tess would not be taking any of her children away from her. She shuddered at the thought of killing Tess once again, wrapping her hands around the sprite's tiny neck and strangling her until she stopped breathing.

Her hatred of Tess made her think those horrible things. She could never really kill anyone--

--could she?

She cried softly, her warm, wet tears running down her cheek and into Matthew's sweet-smelling hair.

"I can't believe this is happening." She whispered.

* * * * *   
About an hour later Alex and Maria had taken their young children back to the Whitman home to spend the night while Isabel and Michael stayed at the Evans'.

Adam-Michael's brain was telling him that he couldn't sleep... that he was too afraid for himself and his family... but as soon as everyone left his room, his head hit the pillow and he was out cold.

In his dream, he was floating above his room, looking down on himself sleeping in his bed. He saw his own body getting further and further away as he floated out his window and into the desert night. In his dream, the rocky deserts of New Mexico were right outside his window. He continued to float until he came to rest on a very distinct cliff.

He didn't need to be told exactly where he was. He was standing at the entrance to the pod chamber, where his mother and father were born. He felt himself walk effortlessly over towards the cool, somewhat calming boulder in front of his face. He waved his hand in front of the boulder, gasping as a glowing silver handprint appeared on it. He placed his hand on top of the handprint and the boulder began to shake violently. He looked to his left and saw a large part of the rock was opening up, revealing a dim cave inside. He hesitated for a moment, then saw a figure in the shadows of the inside of the rock. He couldn't see her face, but he didn't have to know who it was... he felt it.

It was his mother. She was motioning for him to come inside the cave, to come closer to her.

So he did. Without realizing that his feet were moving, he was inside the cave, his mother's hands resting on both sides of his face. Her hands were cold next to Adam-Michael's warm skin.

"Mother... why?"

She placed a finger to his lips, quieting his speech. "Everything will be revealed soon, my darling."

She took his hand forcefully, gently guiding him over to a large glowing figure- four unopened pods. Adam couldn't explain it but he knew what each of the four pods meant to him. They both stood in front of the four pods. He felt tears sting his eyes when he saw four creatures floating inside the pods.   
It frightened him.

*This is a dream. This is only a dream.* His subconsious screamed out to him. He walked closer to the top left corner pod. He put his open palm on the outside and closed his eyes.

"Michael..." He whispered, knowing instinctively that the child in the pod was his uncle. He moved slightly, leaning over to the top right corner pod, touching that one in the same manner. "Aunt Isabel..." He looked towards his mother with enchantment in his eyes. Tess nodded, taking his hand from atop Isabel's pod and placing it gently on the pod directly below it. Adam's hand immediately began to glow, and he was filled with a rush of images- images of strange-looking creatures fighting with each other, followed by an alien cradling another in its arms, pressing their faces together, dark tears streaming from its eyes.

"Dad..." His voice choked out. "Mother..." He said, turning his head to the final pod and wresting his hand on it, his voice echoing through the chamber. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, and was transported to the desert. His mother was still by his side.

"Adam-Michael, someday you will understand. You will understand why I'm doing this." Tess said quietly, raising her arm and pointing to the stars high above them. He gasped as the sky came rushing towards them and five stars came swirling around their faces. He tried to reach out and grab them... but they vanished, only to be replaced in the distance by five people. "Come, darling." She held her hand out and he took it in his own as they walked further into the desert night, coming closer to the five people leaning against a large rock. They were all dressed in white. When they got close enough to see the faces of the angels, Adam-Michael let out a strangled cry.

"Mom! Jordana! Matty! Dylan!" He screamed, slumping to the ground. "Lauren!" He looked up to his mother with pain in his eyes. "Why are you doing this?" He beat his fists into her legs as Tess waved her hands over them and they disappeared, screaming, into the oblivion of his dream world. "No!" He screamed out in anguish. "No..." He shuddered against her body. Using her hidden strength, she pulled him up from the ground, looking into his eyes.

"One day you'll understand." She said with a slight smile.

"No, I'll never understand you. You are evil, Mother! Why?" He screamed, trying to run away from her, but finding that his feet were inexplicably planted on the cold, hard ground.

"Soon, Adam-Michael. Soon." Tess leaned over and gave him a small kiss on his cheek.

Then he woke up.

He didn't remember throwing a pair of khaki cargo pants over his boxer shorts, pulling a long-sleeved T-shirt over his head and slipping on his shoes and socks. He didn't remember making his way down the hallway of the quiet upstairs of his home and walking down the steps. He didn't remember grabbing his car keys from the kitchen table and walking through the front door onto the porch and towards the driveway. He didn't remember getting into his car and starting the engine.

It dawned on him once he drove down the street that he didn't just need to get some fresh air- he needed Lauren.

Within minutes, he was in front of the modest ranch home she shared with her father, the Sheriff.

Adam-Michael climbed out of the car, quietly shutting the door. He didn't want the Sheriff coming out of the house then, guns blazing with fright...

He padded across the soft patch of grass in the front yard, making his way over to her window. He had never done this before, only in his dreams... the courage driving him to see her almost frightened him. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. It was exhilirating...freeing in a way.

He didn't know which window was hers, but he was going on instinct by choosing one on the far left side of the house. As he got closer, he realized that there was a small light on in her room.

It was 3 AM and she was still awake?

Adam-Michael arched his eyebrow but pressed further, finally stopping about ten feet from the window, slumping down behind a large tree trunk. He peered his head around to look into the window again. His heart jumped as he saw a shadowy figure move from the bed to the window, pulling the curtains back and revealing its angelic form.

Lauren looked intently into the full moon, letting its soft glow cascade onto her face. Her breathing was heavy and deep. She had been having the most peculiar dream about Adam-Michael before she had been woken up. Why had they been in the middle of the desert? And why had he wanted her to go inside some random cave with him?

Her heart jumped into her throat as she saw someone hiding behind the tree in her front yard. She was about to go into her father's room to get him until the figure caught her gaze and began moving towards the window. She calmly opened the window and poked her head outside as the figure came into better focus.

"Adam-Michael? What are you doing here?" She whispered, her mouth gaping.

He had been so confident just moments before, but now that she was standing there before him wearing skimpy bed clothes, her soft skin only inches from his hands... he couldn't move.

"Adam?" She repeated her demand.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I just had- had to see you." He said cryptically.

She gasped. "I-what do you mean? You *had* to see me? Is everything--okay?" She couldn't help but gravitate closer towards him. Her face was only inches from his own. She could feel his hot breath radiating on her face.

"Yeah--I mean, no...I mean, I don't know." He said, feeling frustrated and embarassed. "I shouldn't have come here--I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry." He turned to walk away from the window, but was startled when he felt her touch his shoulder.

"No--I mean, you don't have to go... is there something you wanted--to talk about?" She asked warily as the image of him kissing her in her dream flashed in her mind. He gasped as he had a flash of kissing her by the cave.

Had she been dreaming of him? He turned around slowly, meeting her deep blue eyes finally.

"I just--had a--nightmare..." Adam-Michael said, summoning the courage deep inside him to keep talking.

"Do you--want to talk about it?" Lauren asked, realizing her hand was still lingering on his arm.

"It was just--frightening." He shuddered as the image of his family and Lauren vanishing in front of his eyes washed over him. "I don't know why--I just had to come over and see you...in my dream...something happened..."

Lauren's voice caught in her throat. He'd been dreaming about her? "...to me?"

Adam took a deep breath. "Yes. I was scared, it was so real-- I wanted to--"

"--make sure I was all right?" Lauren finished for him. She smiled.

Adam-Michael nodded. He dropped his head down to look at his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He didn't want her to know how frightened he'd been for her. He gasped as he felt her hand brush up against his face, pulling his eyes back towards hers. She ran her hand through his thick brown hair.

Before he could comprehend any rational thought, he felt her warm, soft lips brush lightly against his. Losing control of his body, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and placed them on either sides of her face, deepening the kiss between them. His mind was racing with images of the two of them together in the halls of West Roswell, in Bio lab, at the party tonight, and consoling each other on the bench outside his aunt and uncle's house.

Then he saw images he didn't recognize-- Lauren as a little girl playing cards with her dad. Little Lauren holding an old woman's hand as they crossed a busy intersection. A three-year-old Lauren putting on her mother's lipstick in the mirror and patting a powder brush all over her face. A ten-year-old Lauren in the school play, singing her heart out as the lead in "The Kids of Camelot". A six-year-old Lauren crying as she and her father placed roses on her mother's grave.

He broke away from the kiss suddenly, almost afraid of what else he might see.

"Lauren--" He whispered. Her eyes were still closed, a small smile lingering on her lips.

"Yes, Adam?"

"I'm sorry--"

"Don't be sorry." She said firmly, her fingers returning to his soft hair. His eyes were welling with tears.

"I have to go." He said, giving her a final kiss and tearing himself from her embrace, running frantically towards the car.

"Adam!" She managed to call out before he sped off. She ran her finger over her lips, which were still moist from his kiss. Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach as she wrapped her arms around herself and falling onto her bed. She let the tears of confusion fall freely from her eyes as she drifted off to sleep, hoping that she would dream of him once more.

~*~*~*~*~

Adam-Michael rolled over in his bed and looked at the clock.

8:12 A.M.

It was Saturday morning, and his body was telling him it was time to get up. Something was definitely wrong. He yawned and stretched, squinting his tired eyes to look for the long-sleeved shirt he had thrown on last night when he drove to see Lauren. He found it at the end of the bed and raised it up to his face.

It still smelled like her.

Just the thought of Lauren made all those images he'd seen last night rush through his mind. Why had he seen all those things? And why had he dreamed of that cave? How had he known which of those young children were his parents?

How did this all tie in to he and Lauren?

He pulled the shirt over his head and sighed, resigning to find out about his heritage today. It was his right to know and he was going to make them tell him… everything. He walked quietly down the hallway, being careful not to wake Jordana. He knew his parents would already be up- Matty and Dylan would have made sure of that.

As he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, he found his mother pulling out items from the refrigerator to make breakfast. She turned around as she heard his footsteps. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy from crying.

"Mom." He said quietly, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "It's going to be okay."

"I wish I could say that, Adam-Michael. I really do." She said quietly, trying to change the subject. "You want breakfast?"

"Sure, that would be great. Where's Dad?" Adam-Michael pulled out a carton of milk from the refrigerator and grabbed a glass from the cabinet.

"Oh, he's in the nursery with boys. He'll be down in a minute." Liz said softly, pulling another plate from the cupboard and looking away from Adam so he wouldn't see that her eyes were welling up again.

"Okay." They were quiet as Liz cracked two eggs on the side of the pan before emptying their contents onto it.

"Are you not eating, Mom?" Adam-Michael asked as he noticed the two plates sitting on the counter.

"No." Liz said firmly. "I'm not really hungry."

"Shouldn't you eat something, Mom? … I mean, you're still nursing…" Adam said with a worried look on his face.

"I'm not hungry." Liz repeated, sighing. "Now, are you going to tell me where in the hell you went at three in the morning?"

Adam's face went sheet white. "You… were up?"

"I had a nightmare."

"Me too."

"I called out your name quietly so your father wouldn't wake up… but you just kept walking. You had a pretty dazed look on your face. Were you sleepwalking?"

"No." Adam-Michael said, shuddering as he remembered how scared he was after waking up from his nightmare. "I had a nightmare, too."

"Oh, Adam." She said, frowning and taking his hand. "Where did you go?"

"Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad. I was just worried." Liz said.

Adam-Michael took a deep breath. "I went to Lauren's."

"What?" Liz cried frantically. "Why? What were you doing?" My little boy better not be having sex, Liz thought with fear.

"Mom, calm down. The nightmare I had last night… Lauren was in it. Something… happened to her." Adam-Michael said firmly, his tone unwavering. "I had to see her. It all felt so real. I thought…"

"You thought Tess had done something to her, didn't you?" Liz asked sadly, touching the side of Adam's face with her hand.

Adam-Michael nodded. "I know… I know it's stupid. But it felt so real."

"It's not stupid." Liz said quietly. "Remember when I was pregnant with your sister? I had dreams like that. They scared me to death."

"Did you have a nightmare about Tess last night?" Adam asked hesitantly.

Liz nodded. "I woke up in a cold sweat. I don't know how she still has that effect on me. I guess it was just a combination of everything that happened in the house last night… because she was… here."

"You could sense her presence more strongly?" Adam-Michael asked.

"Yeah." Liz said quietly. "Funny, huh? I'm not even one of you."

Adam-Michael flashed a small smile. "Mom, we're going to fight her."

"That's what your father keeps saying. I don't… I can't bring myself to believe him." Liz said as she flipped the eggs.

Max padded down the stairs quietly, hearing the last part of the conversation as he cradled Matthew and Dylan in his arms. "What do I keep saying?" He asked as his eyes narrowed at his wife. She walked over and picked up Dylan.

"Nothing, Dad. Mom and I both had nightmares last night, and we were talking about them… that's all." Adam-Michael said as he walked over towards Max. "Can I hold Matty?"

"Of course." Max said, handing the baby to him and smiling. "Good morning, Adam." He mimicked in a baby voice. Adam grinned.

"There's something I need to talk to you about…" Adam-Michael said, his face turning serious once more.

"What's wrong?" Max asked as he walked up behind Liz and kissed her neck. "Mmm. It smells great." He whispered in her ear.

"Well, it's kind of…'Czechoslovakian' stuff." Adam said uncomfortably. Liz and Max laughed.

"Where did you hear that?" Liz asked. "I haven't heard that in ages."

"Uncle Alex told me that's what you guys used to say in public instead of…you know, 'the A-word'." Adam-Michael said. "Anyway, it's just stuff… I want to know about."

"Like what?" Max asked.

"Like, why didn't you tell me about the Pod Chamber? Or that you and Tess were created to mate and carry on the species? Or that Michael and Aunt Isabel were supposed to be together? Or that you were reincarnated from an alien species on another planet… or…"

Max and Liz looked at him with alarm. "Who told you all this?" Max cried, walking over to his son.

"It was all in my dreams. Tess was there. She was telling me all this. Is it true? And why have you been keeping it all from me?" He asked calmly, but his tone growing angrier with each word.

Max looked at him with a pained expression. He turned his gaze back to his wife and she nodded in approval.

"We'll go down to the rock quarry today. Me, you, Michael, and Aunt Isabel. We'll tell you everything you want to know."

"Thank you, Dad." Adam-Michael said. "I just think that if we have to fight my mother, I'm going to need to know everything so I can be stronger against her."

"NO!" Liz cried. "Adam-Michael, no. We won't involve you in this… We won't put you against your mother."

"She's not my mother. You are." Adam-Michael said firmly. Liz carried Dylan over to the other side of the kitchen where Adam, Max, and Matthew were.

"I love you so much, Adam." Liz kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you too, Mom." He said, smiling. Max wrapped one arm around Liz and the other around Adam. "One more thing, Dad?"

"What?" He asked, playing with Dylan's tiny fingers.

"How could I see inside Lauren's mind when I kissed her?"

Max smiled, looking down at his wife and remembering their first kiss. Liz's mouth gaped open. "You kissed her?" Liz cried.

"Yeah." Adam-Michael said, smiling.

"When you form a connection with someone that you care about, you can sometimes see things… from inside their head."

"Yeah, there was this one time when we were in high school, when your Dad and I would… never mind." Liz said, looking up at him and giggling.

"You would what?" Adam-Michael asked, intrigued.

"We'll tell you when you're older... don't want to give you any *ideas*." Max said, winking at him.

"Eew!" Adam-Michael said, playfully cringing. "Never mind. I DON'T want to know."

Max and Liz laughed.   


* * * *

Lauren woke up a little before lunchtime that afternoon, her heart still singing from the kiss she had shared with Adam-Michael only a few hours before. Had he felt that same spark that she had? Just a week ago, they had been lab partners... and now what?

She closed her eyes as she rolled over and stepped into her slippers on the side of her bed. She got another flash of she and Adam-Michael in a cave. What were those egg-looking things he was pointing to? They reminded her of huge jars of Vasoline! What did they mean? And why had she seen them again when she kissed Adam-Michael?

_*We definitely have a lot to talk about,*_ She thought as she walked quietly down the hall, her body propelling her forward by the smell of her father making chocolate-chip pancakes.

* * * *

"OK, you lost me at the message from your mother... If she's an alien, how was she able to communicate with you and tell you all these things?" Adam-Michael looked at his father, aunt, and Michael for answers as he squinted from the brightness of the harsh desert sunlight. He kicked a rock and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around the expanse of the rock quarry.

This whole story was creeping him out.

"It was like a hologram, Adam-Michael. She communicated to us in human form, so we'd be able to understand her. She told us that we had lived past lives and we had died in battle on our planet." Isabel explained quietly.

"If you lived past lives, how did you get to earth?" Adam-Michael asked.

"We were, in essence, cloned..." Michael began, only to be cut off by Max.

"...More like 'reincarnated'. The people on our planet mixed our DNA with human DNA to create us." Max said, walking closer to his son, trying to gauge his reaction to all this.

"So that means I have human organs?" Adam-Michael asked.

"Yes. Everything on the inside is the same as humans, except we have different blood cells." Michael finished.

"But what about Jordana, Matty, and Dylan? Are they different from me? Because they have a human mother?" Adam-Michael asked, leaning on the hood of his car and looking at his father.

"As far as we know, you are all the same as us. All of you guys. My kids, Michael and Maria's kids..." Isabel's voice trailed off.

"And you were sent to earth to defeat an evil race of aliens?" Adam-Michael asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes, we were. Your father was our leader, and me, your mother, and Michael all worked with him to destroy our enemy race." Isabel replied.

"So you've all...killed...?" Adam-Michael asked quietly. Max, Michael, and Isabel nodded.

"We did it to stay alive, Adam." Max said firmly. Adam-Michael looked over at Michael, a look of sadness casting over his eyes.

"That's why you killed my mother, then? To stay alive?" Adam replied quickly.

Michael paused, his face fallen. Isabel closed the distance between them and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. He was speechless.

"Adam-Michael, do you remember what happened that day?" Max asked him, leaning up against the car next to his son.

"Not really, I tried to block it all out... I know, I know...my mother was going to kill Mom, I mean Liz, and Jordana, and Maria..." Adam-Michael said. Max, Michael, and Isabel nodded as he continued. "...what I don't understand is *why* she would do such a terrible thing..."

"Your mother was possessed... she had this obsession with our past lives." Isabel said. "She was convinced that we had to live the way we had a lifetime ago... that it was our destiny, the way it was supposed to be."

"So that's why she wanted to kill Maria, too? Because Michael was supposed to be with Aunt Isabel?" Adam-Michael asked, looking to his father. Isabel and Michael nodded as she took his hand.

"She always hated your Mom, Maria, and Alex... because of what they meant to us and what they represented to her. She thought they were trying to take her life away from her. Especially Liz... I mean, your Mom." Isabel said, still holding Michael's shaking hand.

"...Because she came between you guys. And that's why she wanted to kill Jordana." Adam-Michael said quietly, shaking his head in disgust. "That's so horrible."

"I hate your mother for what she did to us all, but to this day, I feel sorry for her. She was deluded... she had been raised to believe that I was going to be her mate, her husband, the father of her children. When that didn't happen, when she saw how deeply in love I was with your Mom, she couldn't take it." Max said.

"But you are the father of her child. Me. She got what she wanted... I was just another pawn in her game, wasn't I?" Adam's eyes clouded with tears and his voice rose in anger.

"Oh, Adam, that's not true, sweetheart." Isabel reached over and grabbed her nephew's hand.

"You were created out of love, Adam-Michael. I thought I was in love with your mother. She made me feel so strange... like I was in a fog for two years or something... she made me feel like she was the only person who existed." Max said, ashamed. He wrapped his arm around Adam-Michael's shoulders.

"But she had me to get you back, am I right? To break up you and Mom for good?" Adam-Michael asked.

"That's not true. She had you because she loved you, Adam-Michael. You were her entire world." Isabel said.

"And I wanted to be with Dad and Liz. And that killed her." Adam said sadly.

"No. *I* killed her." Michael said, kicking a rock by his foot and walking away from the others towards his car.

"Michael!" Isabel cried, running after him. Max enveloped his son in a hug and kissed the top of his head.

"Will he be okay?" Adam-Michael asked with worry.

Max nodded. "He'll be fine. He just gets upset sometimes when we talk about Tess. Adam, listen... your mother's death was tragic. But it wasn't your fault." He said.

"Dad, I know before I said I would fight my mother, if she came back and hurt you again...."

"Adam-Michael..." He began.

"I know she gave me life and everything, but I think..." Adam fought back tears. "I think my family is more important. You and Mom and everyone."

"You're *not* getting involved in this. This is between your mother, Michael, Isabel, and I. I've already made my decision... as your father." Max replied.

"But, but what if she goes after Mom... and the babies... and Jordana... and Lauren..." He began as tears of frustration fell down his cheeks. "I'm just supposed to sit back and do *nothing*?"

"You watch over your sister and brothers...and Lauren. Be there for them. Love them. Be yourself. That's your job." He couldn't help but smile with pride. His son was becoming such a wonderful young man.

"What about Mom?" Adam-Michael asked with fear.

"I will *never* let anything happen to Mom. Don't let that thought cross your mind. Ever." Max said, his voice unwavering. Adam-Michael hugged him again.

"Thank you." Adam said firmly.

"For what?"

"I don't know. Where do I begin? Thank you for telling me the truth today. Thank you for being my Dad." Adam-Michael said, looking off into the depths of the rock quarry.

Max swallowed hard so his son wouldn't see him cry. He smiled at him and motioned to the car they were sitting on. "Come on son, we should get home."

Adam-Michael said nothing as his father opened the driver's side door and filed into the Cherokee. He silently agreed to Max's request to stay out of the war with his mother.

That's when the pain started in the back of his eye sockets and washed over his brain.

_*Adam-Michael, you belong to me.*_ His entire body shuddered as he had flashes of his mother giving birth to him and cradling him in his arms as he was a newborn. How could he be possibly remember those things? He was too young!

That's when he knew she was alive and well because she was transmitting these images to him. Trying to show him how much she loved him. He rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. What was he going to do?

How was he going to handle all this when all he wanted to do was hold and kiss Lauren again?

* * * *

"Nasedo, you did excellent work." Tess said, standing in front of a mirror and admiring the way her tight blonde curls fell softly onto her face and how her piercing blue eyes were like two precious sapphires... She had missed her body so much. "How can Max resist me ever again?"

Nasedo arched his eyebrow as he looked Tess up and down. "You don't really believe you can just waltz up in Max's home and woo him away from Liz and his children now, do you?"

"I'll make him want me, Nasedo. Don't you worry..." Tess began, smirking.

"It sure as hell didn't work last time!" Nasedo cried. "We need a plan."

Tess turned around, glaring at Nasedo, who was still in the form of a goregous young blonde woman. "I forgot, you know everything and I know nothing..."

"Tessa, you have SO much left to learn... your cluelessness amazes me sometimes..."

"Fine..." She said, rolling her bright blue eyes. "What did you have in mind? You know I'll do anything to get them back."

Nasedo paused, pondering the situation. "I know you just got back into your old body, but how would you feel about shapeshifting..."

"Into who?" Tess asked with apprehension. Nasedo smirked, raising his hand up in the air and changing forms once more. Tess gasped at the person now standing in front of her.

"How about... Dr. Elizabeth Parker Evans?" Nasedo said in Liz's voice.

Tess smiled at Nasedo's wickedness. This was going to be so much fun.   


To be continued...


	3. Parts 10 through 11

Solace, parts 10 and 11 email me if you can't find the other parts. They should be on this page somewhere. Or just click on my name and it will take you to a list of all the stories I've submitted to fanfiction.net. Thanks!!!!   


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"What about this one?" Liz held up a long sleeveless navy blue dress with a high neckline and beading all over it.

"No, no, no, Liz. The keyword here is *cleavage*. Your breasts are awesome right now- with nursing and all. You need to take full advantage of that fact." Maria returned to one of the racks in her store and continued to search for the perfect sexy dress for her best friend to wear tonight. Liz was planning the first romantic evening with her husband since their twins had been born, and Maria wanted to make sure everything was perfect for her.

"No, ick, Maria. My body sucks right now. I feel so fat. I need something with dark colors that doesn't show off the fat too much." Liz said quietly, kneeling over the baby stroller in front of her to stick a fussy Matty's pacifier back in his mouth.

Maria chuckled. "First of all, Liz, take a look in the mirror- nothing about your body sucks, okay?" She turned Liz around to face a nearby full length mirror. Liz sighed. Maria turned back to the rack and spotted a short red tube dress with criss-cross straps in the back. She held it up in front of Liz's tiny frame.

Liz smiled. "I love it. But do you really think he'll like it?"

Maria laughed. "He's a guy, isn't he?" Liz blushed. "Chica, you are going to look fabulous. Max won't know what hit him."

"Thanks for helping me, Maria." Liz looked down at the twins, who were stirring in their stroller. "Oh, it looks like they're hungry." She picked up Matthew and Dylan and brought them close to her chest.

"You can use the back office to feed them, if you want, sweetie. Are you sure you've got all the arrangements in order tonight? Cause I wouldn't mind taking any of the kids, if you want total privacy..."Maria said, winking at her friend as she helped push the baby stroller towards the back of the store.

Liz laughed and rolled her eyes as she took the babies into the back office and worked on unbuttoning her shirt. "Thanks for the thought, Maria, but I've got everything under control. I got Richard to take call for me tonight, Mom's taking the twins, Jordana's staying with Michaela, and Adam has a date with Lauren..." She smiled.

"Adam and Lauren? That's so sweet!" Maria gushed. "So... how's he handling all the stuff with... Tess and everything?" She placed the red dress behind the cash register so she could try it on later.

Liz sighed as her babies began to eat. "I don't really know. He's becoming really withdrawn from Max and me, and I'm worried, Maria. I think he's upset that we kept the whole 'destiny' thing from him." Maria leaned next to a file cabinet in her office and watched her best friend intently.

"I guess it's just going to take time, you know? It was hard for all of us to deal with, and we've had like fifteen *years*." Maria said softly. She smiled at how quiet and peaceful Matty and Dylan had become the second they came in contact with their mom. They had only been eating for a few moments and they were already drifting back to sleep.

Liz was silent as she watched the angels nestled in her arms. Her thoughts turned to her oldest son and wondered if he was thinking about Tess right at that very moment as well.

* * * *

"So, did you understand *anything* in Biology today? I was *totally* lost." Lauren said as she sipped her bottled water and leaned her head back against the tree trunk. Adam looked up from his bag of pretzels and smiled at her, watching with adoration as she dug her fork over and over again in her pasta salad, looking for the perfect piece to put in her mouth. He was thoroughly enjoying his favorite part of the day- lunch with Lauren in a quiet part of the quad.

"Wha-what?" Adam asked, dazed. Lauren smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"Adam-Michael Parker Evans." She said firmly. "You're hopeless." She laughed.

"What, Lauren Michelle Valenti?" He asked, smiling. She stuck her tongue out at him. "I guess I just can't stop staring at my beautiful girlfriend. Sue me." Lauren blushed, looking into his eyes as she gave him a quick kiss.

"You are too much, you know that?" She asked. He shook his head as he took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed.

"No, no. I think you're wrong on that one." He replied, smiling at her.

"You are! I've never had *visions* when I've kissed someone before. You're special." She smiled sweetly at him. He snapped his head up when he heard her say this.

"Visions? What kind of visions?" Adam asked her.

"Yeah... like the first time you kissed me, I saw us at this cave. It was really strange. But it felt so real." She said. "Why is that?"

Adam gasped to himself. This was getting really weird. "I-I- I dreamed that the other night."

"Adam? I can see inside your head? Why?" She asked with confusion.

He never wanted to tell her the truth about him more than at that moment. He looked at his feet instead and played with a piece of grass. "I-I don't know... so, about tonight... what movie were you thinking about seeing?"

Lauren looked at him, puzzled. She didn't know why, but she felt like he wasn't telling her something... and she didn't like it. "Um, I thought we were going to see that new Gwyneth Paltrow one? That romantic comedy thing?"

Adam nodded his head. "Ahh.. a chick flick! Oh well, Gwyneth's a babe, I think I can handle it." She gasped playfully, grabbing a piece of popcorn and throwing it at his face. He smiled back at her and crawled closer to her, giving her a sweet kiss. As the kiss intensified, he began seeing things from inside her head...

_*Lauren lying on her bed, reading 'Romeo and Juliet' for English class and diligently taking notes.*_   
_ *Lauren watching him as he slowly cut into the lab specimen on the table in front of them.*_   
_ *Lauren dancing on a coffee table as a little girl, her mom and dad smiling and clapping for her*_   
_ *Lauren running her hands through his hair as they shared their first kiss.*_

He broke away from the kiss quickly and looked in her eyes.

"What, Adam? Did you see something too?"

He shook his head. "N-no. It's nothing." Lauren slumped back against the tree stump and sighed. Something was definitely up with him, and she wasn't going to rest until she figured it out.

* * * *

"Nasedo, is this really going to work?" Tess asked as she laid out her clothes for the evening's events.

"Of course it is, Tessa.. you have complete shape-shifting power now. We can do this. I promise you, by the end of the night, you will have Adam-Michael back." Nasedo replied quickly, still going over the plan carefully in his mind.

"And Max?" Tess asked hopefully.

"I don't know. After seeing what we do to his family, he may not like you very much..." Nasedo began, raising his eyebrows at her.

"I don't care anymore. Damn him! I just want my son. Just him. Damn the rest of them." Tess said coldly, absentmindly drifting her hand down to her womb and cradling it. Sixteen years had gone by since she carried Adam-Michael and had brought him into the world. He would no longer forsake her after tonight.

* * * *

"Max!" Liz nudged her husband forcefully, pointing to the waiter standing before them. "He asked you what you want to eat."

"Oh- sorry." He was broken out of the spell she had cast on him. His wife looked so incredible, he could hardly see straight. She was wearing a tight red dress with her hair pulled up loosely so that curly little tendrils framed her face. God, how he wanted her. "I-I'll have the grilled chicken pasta, I guess."

"And, um..." He watched her as she grazed her finger daintly over the menu, finally coming to rest in the steak section. "Filet mignon. Medium well, please." The waiter nodded and took their menus before he left. Max looked at her and chuckled.

"Filet mignon? You must be hungry." Max said, sipping his water. She scooted her chair closer to his and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Oh, I'm hungry alright... but it isn't for steak." She nibbled softly on his earlobe and he groaned softly.

"Liz, stop it. Or we'll never make it through dinner."

"So you're on to my plan, Doctor Evans. You're a quick one." She continued to nibble as her tongue darted out to touch the tender spot behind his ear. He gasped.

"Doctor Evans, behave yourself. Am I going to have to take you home?" He asked her playfully.

"Oh, you promise?" She asked, smiling. He looked at her in awe. They'd been married for over ten years and it barely felt like ten days. The passion he felt every time he looked into her eyes amazed him so much that it sometimes brought him to his knees, praying to God that he would have her for the rest of his life and into the next one.

* * * *

Michaela popped a CD in her stereo and walked back over to her bed, where Jordana was stretched out and reading a copy of "Seventeen". "So, what's Adam up to tonight?" She asked, flopping down on the bed and returning to the picture she was drawing.

Jordana rolled her eyes. "He's got a date." She mocked him.

Michaela laughed. "Adam's got a date? Go him! Is it with the sheriff's daughter?"

"Yeah, they're all kissy-face now... making me sick. Ew." Jordana stuck her finger in her mouth, making a gagging gesture. Michaela playfully hit her on the arm.

"Be happy for him!"

Jordana shook her head and smiled. "No, no, can't. Don't like her."

"Why don't you like her? She seemed nice at Zach's birthday party..." Michaela asked as she stopped her drawing to grab a box of colored pencils out of her nightstand.

Jordana was quiet. "I- I don't know. She just isn't good enough for him."

Michaela rolled her eyes. "You're his sister, Jordy. No one will ever be 'good enough' for him in your eyes." She colored in the rock formation she had delicately drawn on her paper.

Jordana ignored her statement, instead pointing to what she had drawn. "What's that?"

"I don't know what it is. I dream about it all the time though. I wish I could figure it out. It looks kind of like a cave... do you think?" Michaela turned her head to the side as her cousin examined the drawing.

Jordana closed her eyes as she had a flash of the same cave. Had she and Michaela been having similar dreams?

Isabel popped her head in the door and smiled at them. "Hey girls, Dad and I made some popcorn, would you like some?"

"Sure Mom." Michaela said, shutting her sketch book quickly.

Isabel caught a glimpse of what she was drawing and gasped. "Michaela. Can I see what you drew?" Michaela looked up at her with worried eyes.

"Um, okay." Michaela opened her sketch book to the drawing of the cave. Isabel's eyes widened.

"Sweetheart, do you know what this is?" She asked, sitting down on the bed with her niece and daughter. Michaela and Jordana shook their heads.

"We've both dreamed about it, though. Is it important?" Jordana asked her.

Isabel smiled. "This is the cave where me, your dad--" She pointed to Jordana. "--and Michael were all born."

"I saw four of these weird looking sacks in my dream. Were they you guys?" Michaela asked tentatively.

Isabel nodded. Jordana looked confused.

"Who was the fourth?" She asked her aunt.

Isabel was silent. "How about that popcorn now, kids?"

* * * *

"Lizzie, baby, I have to put you down. I have to get my keys." Max said, trying to dig in his pocket, which was being blocked by Liz's thigh at the moment. She was kissing him furiously as he tried to get the door open and she wasn't showing signs of letting go- not even for a second. "Oh, to hell with it." He sighed, putting his hand over the door to unlock it. They continued to kiss fiercely as he carried her through the kitchen and up the stairs to their bedroom. "Liz--Liz--the kids?" He asked breathlessly.

"Gone." She whispered, returning to his mouth. They finally reached their room and made their way over to the King-sized bed in the middle. He placed her gently down on the mattress and quickly began loosening his tie and unbuttoning his dress shirt. Liz worked on getting his pants down and off. After most of his clothes were gone, he turned his full attention to her.

"Turn around, sweetie." She stood up and sighed as she felt his soft hands moving down her back as he unzipped her dress slowly. She stepped out of it as he lowered his mouth to kiss her silky neck and shoulders. "I've wanted to do that all night."

She turned around in his arms and kissed him sweetly. She broke free of his embrace and he whimpered slightly until he saw her walk over to the wall to switch off the overhead light in the room, making the room completely dark. She walked back over to him and whispered in his ear. He used this quick opportunity to return his lips to her neck. "Would you do the honors?" She asked. He smiled into her shoulder, giving it another nibble as he snapped his fingers in the air, illuminating the dozens of candles scattered around the room.

She finally allowed him to pick her up and lay her gently down onto the bed, kissing her hungrily. She rolled him over on his back and worshiped him with her mouth. He removed the last pieces of her clothing and she finally settled on top of him, straddling his hips. She sighed as they came together for the first time since the babies had been born. God, how she missed this. Slowly, slowly, faster, faster... yes. They cried out together as their lovemaking came to a heated climax. She fell on top of him and leaned her head up to whisper in his ear.

"God, Max, I love you."

"I love you." He breathed. "Can you believe that's the first time we've...since Matty and Dylan..."

"Yeah, I know." She kissed him gently on the cheek as their hearts slowed back to normal. "We have a lot of time to make up..."

He smiled at her wickedly and flipped their bodies over so he could lay his head on her heaving chest, listening to her soothing heartbeat. It wasn't long before they had both drifted off to sleep.

* * * *

A nude Liz walked into the bathroom she shared with her husband and flipped on the light. She was searching for her bathrobe. When she found it, she wrapped it around her body and walked down the stairs to get a snack. She yawned as she looked through the cabinet to find her Mint Milano cookies. She turned around and gasped as she saw Michael sitting at her kitchen table. "Michael!" She cried. "What are you doing here? It's 11 o clock!" He walked over to her silently and she could tell he had been crying. "Michael, are you okay?"

"Can we talk? Outside?" He asked her, his bottom lip quivering.

"Oh my God! What's the matter? Did something happen to Maria?" She cried. Michael shook his head.

"No, no... we had a fight-- I needed to talk to you. You know her better than anyone except me, maybe you can help me-- sort things out." Michael said, lowering his head.

"Ok, well, can't we just talk in here?" She asked, putting her cookies down and leading him to the table.

He nodded quickly. "No!" He cried. She arched her eyebrow at him. "I mean, I want to-- have a cigarette--"

"Michael, since when do you smoke?" Liz asked with confusion.

"I'm really on edge right now, okay? It--it relaxes me." He pleaded, looking into her brown eyes. "Please?"

She sighed. "OK. But only for a minute. Max tends to freak out if he wakes up and I'm not there."

Michael rolled his eyes. "You've got him trained well, huh, Liz?" She smacked him playfully.

"Shut up, you jerk!" She cried as they walked through the doorway, shutting the door behind them. "OK, is this better?"

"Much." He said, his tone changing as he reached for her neck. She didn't have time to scream as she felt his fingers pressing into the top of her spine. She only saw a bright white light, then nothing but blackness.

* * * *

"Max--" There was a whisper in the darkness of the room.

"Hhmmph." He groaned, rolling over and wrapping his arms tightly around his wife.

"Max, I need you." She said quietly, climbing on top of his hard body and straddling him. She leaned down to kiss him as he was beginning to wake up. His whole body responded to the kiss and he deepened it by searching her mouth with his tongue. This opened the usual floodgate of shared images and feelings between them.

_ *He and Tess kissing at the pod chamber.*_   
_ *He and Tess making love for the first time out in the desert.*_   
_ *Tess coming to Boston and bringing their son, Adam.*_   
_ *Tess showing up in the park that day, the day Adam came to live with he and Liz.*_   
_ *He and Tess making love again.*_   
_ *Tess giving birth to Adam-Michael in the pod chamber.*_   
_ *Liz and Jordana lying helpless on the floor of a cave with blood dripping from their mouths.*_

Max broke away from the kiss in shock, pushing Liz off his body and jumping across the room.

"Max, what's the matter?" She asked calmly, walking over to the side of the room where he was standing.

"You--you--you're not--" His voice shook violently as his face went sheet white. "My wife." He said finally.

"Max, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way." She moved closer to him and smirked as she cupped his manhood in her soft hands. He jumped away from her in disgust.

"WHERE is LIZ?" He cried.

She sighed. "Max, I really tried to be nice about this. I did. But you're not cooperating, so I'm forced to take drastic action... forgive me, my love." She raised her hand to his forehead and knocked him unconscious.

* * * *

"OK, what movie do you want to watch now, Micky?" Jordana asked her cousin as they lay on the couch, surrounded by mountains of junk food. Michaela yawned.

"*You* can watch a movie, Jordy, but I'm tired." She climbed off the couch and grabbed her blanket to go back into her room. Jordana sighed. She couldn't explain it, but for some reason she was on edge... like something was wrong. She couldn't sleep.

"Well do you mind if I stay out here in the living room for a while? I'm not really all that tired yet."

"OK." Michaela said, walking over to her and giving her a hug. "Goodnight, Jordana."

"Goodnight, Michaela." She whispered as her (slightly) older cousin walked down the hallway and in to her room. Jordana walked into the kitchen and grabbed a juice box from the fridge, returning to the couch to snuggle back into the soft cushions. She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and began flipping the channels. She stopped on Saturday Night Live, one of her favorite shows. She was smiling already.

There was a quiet knock on the door that startled her out of her peaceful state. She looked at the clock on the wall and it read 11:30 PM. She hesitated, but heard the knocking again and decided to slowly creep to the door and look through the peephole. She swung the door open when she saw her Mom standing there.

"Mommy!" She cried, running into her arms. "Is everything OK? I thought you and Daddy were having 'special time' tonight?" She looked into her mother's eyes and could tell she'd been crying. "Mommy, what's the matter?"

"It's...it's Dylan... he's sick... very sick. We have to take him to the hospital. Come on." Liz said quickly, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the house.

"Mommy!" Jordana cried, tears rushing to her eyes. "Will he be okay? What's wrong with him?"

"He---um, he stopped breathing." Her mother replied quickly.

"Mom, wait, I need to tell Michaela that I'm leaving..." Jordana looked back towards the house as her mother dragged her away.

"No!" Liz cried, the anger in her eyes scaring Jordana. "I mean, no." She said quietly. "We don't have any time. Come on, dear." Liz opened the door to the Jeep Cherokee and gasped as she saw her mother and father bound and gagged in the back. Jordana screamed as "Liz" pushed her into the back seat and slammed the door behind her.

"MOMMY! DADDY!" She shook them, trying to wake them up by shaking them. She was unsuccessful. "MOM! DAD!" She screamed. She began crying and looked up to see her Uncle Michael staring at her as she felt the car start up. "Michael-- help them! What is going on? Why are there two of her?" He slowly put his hand on her forehead and watched as her tiny body slumped forward, stretching across her mother's and father's. Her chestnut brown hair spread over her parents like a blanket.

"I'm so very sorry, your highness." "Michael" leaned over to whisper in Max's ear.

"Where to now, Nasedo?" "Liz" asked from the driver's seat.

"Now, we get the little ones, Tessa." Nasedo/Michael said quietly from the back. "At Liz's mother's place."

Tess/Liz smirked. "Oh, good. I love babies."

* * * *

"It's midnight, who in the world could that be?" Nancy Parker muttered to herself as she got ready for bed. "Jeff, honey, can you get the door? I'm going to check on the boys one more time." Nancy Parker said as she and her husband heard the distinct ring of the doorbell downstairs in the Crashdown.

"Sure, no problem honey." Jeff called from the living room and jogged down the stairs. He walked quickly through the cafe' when he saw his daughter standing outside, knocking on the door. "Hey, sweetheart." He said as he opened the door. "Is everything all right?" She filed into the Crashdown and her father hugged her as she thought of an explination as to why she had come to get her children at midnight.

"Um, Max-- he's not feeling well, and we ended up *not* going out tonight after all-- and I'd just like to have my babies back tonight. It will just be easier for everyone if I am the one to feed them in a few hours..." She was rambling. "Lately, they've been getting really irritable when they drink the formula, so I think they need to drink the real stuff tonight... can't have them getting sick like Daddy, now!" She cried. Jeff looked at her and arched his eyebrow, but submitted to her request and lead her up the stairs to her old bedroom where her twin babies were staying in the portable crib set up inside. Nancy was holding a fussy Dylan in her arms and spun around on her heels in surprise as she saw her daughter come in the room.

"Lizzie, baby? Is everything OK?"

"Yeah!" She said, smiling. "Everything is fine. Max isn't feeling well, we didn't get to go out..."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. Maybe some other time?" Nancy said.

"Yeah, some other time... can I have my babies back now, Mom?" Liz asked quickly, trying to get out of there as soon as possible.

Nancy and Jeff smiled. They weren't amazed at all by the depth of the love she had for her sons, because they felt the same way for her. Nancy handed Dylan to her and he began wailing.

"Oh, shh..." Liz whispered, trying to soothe him, but failing. His crying woke up his brother and soon the sounds of both boys filled the room. Nancy picked up Matthew and cradled him to her chest.

"Oh, shh, it's alright, my precious grandbaby... you're fine, your Mommy's here. She's going to take you home now." She kissed the top of his soft head and Matthew began to calm down in her embrace. Liz reached her free arm to take Matty out of her mother's hands and he began wailing once more.

"What's going on, Lizzie? Usually they're so happy to see you!" Jeff said, chuckling.

"Maybe I did something to make them mad at me." She joked uncomfortably. Jeff and Nancy exchanged confused looks before looking down at their daughter, struggling to maintain control of her sons. She walked out of the room and quickly followed her.

"If Max is sick, honey, you should be taking care of him, not worrying about crying babies. Here, let us keep them for the night. We don't mind." Jeff said calmly.

Liz turned around and glared at them with fire in her eyes. "No. I'm taking my sons home. Thank you."

Jeff and Nancy were shocked. Their daughter rarely used that tone of voice with them. She started to walk through the front door of the Crashdown, screaming babies in tow, when Nancy stopped her by gently touching her arm. "Sweetie..."

"What?" Liz spun around on her heels. "What now?"

Jeff and Nancy looked at each other and shook their heads. "Nothing, Lizzie. Just... drive carefully, okay?"

Liz looked back at them for a moment and nodded. "I will. Don't worry. Goodnight."

They were quiet for a moment as they watched their daughter take the babies out to the Jeep. Nancy realized that she forgot their baby bags. "Jeff, something's wrong... that's not like her to leave things here..."

Jeff kissed his wife on her forehead. "It will be okay. We'll go over there in the morning- just to make sure everything's okay."

Nancy nodded, trying to bite back tears. She felt like she had just handed over her only grandsons to a complete stranger.

* * * *

Adam-Michael and Lauren were curled up in the back row of the movie theater, hardly paying attention to what was going on in the movie. "Adam...yes..." Lauren breathed between kisses as his lips moved lower to latch on her neck.

Suddenly, Adam was hit with a blinding pain shooting through his body, starting at his head and going to his feet. He broke away from the kiss and bent his head between his legs. "Oh, God!" He cried.

"Adam!" Lauren cried softly, wrapping her arms around his back and holding him. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

The darkness was overtaking him, but he gathered his strength and pushed it away.

"Oh, man..." He whispered, sitting up slowly and sinking backwards into the seat. Lauren looked at him frantically and pushed his bangs back from his forehead.

"What happened?" She asked him. "What happened to you?"

Adam-Michael looked up into her eyes and reached up to cup her cheek. "Nothing. I'm fine. I just get bad... headaches every once in a while... really intense pains that cause my whole body to shake." *Something is very wrong,* he thought. *Something's happened to someone.*

She gasped. "That's awful! Do you want to go home? You should probably get in bed..."

"N-no, I'll be f-fine." He stuttered. She leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Let's go outside- get some fresh air. It will do you some good." She stood up, taking his hand and leading him out of the theater and through the lobby into the parking lot. They made their way over to Adam's car and he leaned over the back in pain.

"Adam-Michael, you're really scaring me. Maybe I should drive you home? You can come get the car tomorrow when you're feeling better."

He shook his head vigorously, trying to shake the pain away. "No, no. I'm fine." She wrapped her arms around his back and let her head rest on his upper back as she gently massaged his hair. He turned around in her arms and hugged her tightly as another wave of pain passed through him. "Something's wrong. Something's wrong." He whispered to himself, not realizing that she could hear him.

"Adam!" She pulled away from him. "You just said something's wrong... tell me! How can I help you if you don't tell me?"

His eyes welled with tears. The pain was just too much. He was so scared. Just then, his saw his parent's Jeep Cherokee pull up beside them and his heart skipped a few beats. Something definitely was wrong. His Uncle Michael was driving. Adam walked over to the car as Michael rolled down the window. He grabbed Lauren's hand and pulled her along beside him.

"Adam-Michael, you have to come with me. Your sister's in the hospital. She was in a car accident." Michael said firmly. "Get in the car, I'll take you to her."

"WHAT?" Adam cried. Lauren threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Adam..." Her eyes were wide with shock and fear. He looked at her in a daze.

"Something *was* wrong..." He whispered. "Lauren," He turned to her and squeezed her hand. "Would you come with me?"

"Of course I will, Adam!" She said, hugging him tightly. "I am so sorry!"

"No!" Michael cried roughly.

Adam-Michael glared at him. "Did you just tell me 'no'?"

Michael froze. "Um, no. No, Lauren can't come. Only family is allowed right now in the emergency room."

"I don't care, Michael. She's with *me*. She's coming with us." He said firmly. Michael paused, sighing. He opened up the car door and walked over to the side to let them in.

"OK, both of you. Get in." He shoved them into the car and saw Liz sitting in the middle seat next to them, carrying the twins in her arms.

"Mom!" Adam cried, grabbing Dylan out of her lap. "I didn't know you were in the car! Are you OK?"

"Mrs. Evans, are you all right?" Lauren asked, reaching her hands to hold Matty. "Here, let me take Matty."

Liz looked at them for a pointed moment as Michael started up the car again. Lauren turned her head around and in the darkness of the backseat, she could see the silhouettes of three bodies stretched there.

"OH MY GOD!" She screamed and pointed, causing Adam-Michael to look at what scared her so much. He gasped, looking back to the woman sitting next to him in the seat.

"Mother?" He asked, tilting his head, recognizing at that moment that he was sitting next to his birth mother, disguised as Liz.

"Adam-Michael. My baby." The woman next to them reached out and cupped Adam's cheek. He was mesmerized by her eyes- the same as his mom's, but yet different somehow.

"Adam!" Lauren cried, shaking him out of his trance. "Please, someone tell me what's going on! Your parents and Jordana are in the back seat, unconscious... but someone who looks A LOT like your Mom is sitting next to us? Wh-what?" She rambled frantically.

"Adam, I didn't want to have to do this... but, I have to." "Liz" said quietly, holding her hand to Adam-Michael's forehead, causing him to slump backwards into Lauren. She screamed as Tess/Liz got closer to her.

"Don't touch me, whoever you are! Don't lay a hand on me!" Lauren screamed. Tess/Liz frowned as she touched Lauren's forehead, causing her to slump into the side of the door.

"I'm sorry, Lauren. I really liked your father, a lot. I'm sorry I had to do that to you." She ran her fingers through Lauren's soft blonde hair and planted a kiss on her son's forehead as she took the squirming babies out of the teenagers' arms again. She bounced them on her knee as they screamed for their mother and father. She gently kissed the tops of their heads filled with soft brown hair. "You should have been my little ones, yes you should have..." She smiled at them as they continued to cry. "Oh, that's okay, sweethearts. I'm your Mommy now. You don't have to be scared. I'll take good care of you... you precious babies." She cooed at them.

"Tessa, we don't have time for your baby drooling right now, OK? We need to stick to the plan."

"Fine." She sighed. "Just trying to bond with my sons." Nasedo rolled his eyes as she smiled gleefully. Her tone changed as she responded to Nasedo's statement. "To the pod chamber. Quickly... I don't know how much longer they will be unconscious. You brought the serum, correct?"

Nasedo/Michael patted the small black bag in the front seat. "I packed four doses- one for Max, one for Adam, and two extra in case Sister and Brother Dearest decide to plan a rescue mission."

"Oh, no." Tess/Liz shook her head. "We are NOT having a repeat of last time."

"Tess, calm down. The plan will work."

"I sure hope so... for your sake." She glared at him. Nasedo caught her death stare in the rearview mirror and chuckled.

"Funny, Tessa. Very amusing." Nasedo said firmly. "Don't be deceived. I may have taught you many things, child, but you will NEVER be as powerful as me."

"Hhmph." She said, pulling the babies tighter in her lap. They wouldn't stop squirming. "We'll see about that."

TBC


	4. Chapter 12

Title: "Solace" (12/?) Author: Meredith (roswelldreamer@aol.com) Category: M/L Rating: R (violence, language) Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell. "Everything" lyrics by Lifehouse. Author's Note: This is the sequel to "The Language of Longing", and is a future fic based on when Tess came to Roswell and diverts from there. Kyle was never shot. (I started the prequel to this story way back in February) Backparts: LOL: Solace: Dedication: To everyone who has stuck with me during this story! It's almost done, yay! ------------------------------------  
  
Isabel pulled her satin robe more tightly against her as she fought off the chill of the night air. She had been plagued with a restless sleep and felt deep in her heart that something was wrong. She walked down the hall briskly, checking her sons' room, only to find Zachary and Ryan sleeping soundly in their beds. She then moved quickly to Michaela's room to check on her daughter and niece.  
  
From the hall light, she could only see one sleeping form in the double bed. She moved closer to get a better look and realized it was her daughter. She sighed deeply, tucking her in firmly before leaving the room.  
  
"Jordana?" She whispered, walking into the living room where she found a mess of pillows and blankets on the couch and the television still on. "Jordana?" She whispered again, looking around frantically. She walked further down the hall into the bathroom, looking through all the rooms of the house, trying to find her niece. "Jordana!" She called out more urgently now until she slumped to her knees on the ground in pain.  
  
Alex heard the screams and ran down the hall to comfort his wife. "Isabel?" He asked, growling sleepily. "Isabel, what's wrong?"  
  
Isabel began crying and shaking. "It's Jordana. I can't find her! Where is she?"  
  
"Isabel, calm down. Have you called Max's yet? Maybe they picked her up early for some reason."  
  
Isabel continued to rock. "No, no, no, something's wrong. They're in danger."  
  
Alex paced nervously and grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle in the kitchen. He dialed the number he knew by heart and spoke whispered prayers that he would hear Liz's calm voice on the other end.  
  
"Dammit!" He cried, slamming the phone down after the tenth ring.  
  
"Mommy! Daddy!" Michaela screamed, running down the hall in a flood of tears. "Jordy's hurt! Someone's hurting her!" Isabel and Alex comforted their daughter as they looked at each other with panic.  
  
"What do we do?" Alex whispered.  
  
"We have to find Liz and Max!" Isabel replied frantically.  
  
"Where do we start?" Alex asked, trying to remain calm.  
  
Isabel closed her eyes and thought hard. "Nancy-- Liz's mother. Call her and see if she's talked to Liz tonight. Maybe they decided to stay at a hotel or something instead of at home." Isabel wanted that to be true so badly, but she could hear Max's voice calling out to her in the back of her brain. Something was very wrong. She could feel herself cradling her daughter in her arms as she watched her husband on the phone. Everything was going in slow motion. Everything was getting dark and fuzzy. Suddenly, she felt Alex's warm hands on her shoulders, shaking her back into reality.  
  
"Isabel!" He called to her. "Isabel!"  
  
"Wh-what? What did Nancy say?"  
  
Alex looked at his feet, his eyes wide with fear. "She said that Liz picked the babies up at like 11 tonight."  
  
"Oh, oh, God." Isabel said, her chest clenching. "Does Tess have the babies too? Oh Lord!"  
  
Alex petted her hair and tried to smooth her. "Sweetie, let's not jump to conclusions now, okay? We don't know who has them, or if they're in any danger. It could all just be a misunderstanding."  
  
Isabel glared at him. "My brother's in trouble. I can't explain to you how I know, I just know. We have to help him!"  
  
"Okay, okay." Alex ran his fingers through his hair and began to pace. "Do you think you can dreamwalk Max? Find out where they are?"  
  
Isabel bit her lip. "I can try."  
  
"Mommy, Jordana's scared. You have to help her." Michaela said firmly. Isabel looked into her daughter's eyes and saw the fear in them. She shuddered.  
  
"I'll call Michael and Maria and tell them to come over, and then we can think of a plan." Alex said. "I can't believe it's happening again." He muttered under his breath.  
  
* * * *  
  
The phone rang, breaking the silence of the kitchen. Isabel, Maria, Michael, and Alex jumped a mile and Isabel switched on the phone that was still in her grasp.  
  
"Max? Is that you?" She asked frantically, her head pounding with fear and worry.  
  
"Max? No. It's Kyle. Isabel, what's going on? I just called the Evans' place looking for my daughter. Adam-Michael was supposed to bring her home over an hour ago and I'm getting worried. No one was picking up. Have you heard from them?"  
  
Isabel's eyes went wide. Tess had Adam-Michael. Adam-Michael was on a date with Lauren.  
  
Tess had Lauren.  
  
She held her hand over the receiver and looked at the others in the kitchen. "It's Kyle!" She whispered. "Lauren hasn't come home from her date with Adam yet!"  
  
Maria gasped. Michael buried his head in his hands. Alex walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"What do I do?" Isabel mouthed to them. "What do I tell him?"  
  
"If Tess has Lauren, you have to tell him the truth, Isabel." Maria cried.  
  
"No! That is a bad idea! We can't trust Kyle." Michael growled.  
  
Isabel paused as she pondered the situation. "His daughter is in danger, Michael---because of our family! He needs to know the truth." She could hear Kyle screaming on the other end, trying to get her attention. She brought the phone back to her ear and sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kyle..." Isabel replied only to be interrupted by his shouting.  
  
"Isabel. Dammit, tell me what's going on right now! If something's happened to my little girl---" Kyle cried. Isabel winced. Michael grabbed the phone from her.  
  
"Valenti. Come over here now. We've got to talk." Michael said firmly, hanging up the phone.  
  
Isabel turned to Alex and wrapped her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. "It's all our fault."  
  
Alex soothed her. "Sweetheart, it's not your fault. It's not."  
  
"I feel so terrible." Maria said glumly, holding on to Michael, who was wearing an unreadable expression.  
  
"So. How much do we tell him?" Michael asked. "We can't tell him *everything*."  
  
"I can't believe how selfish you're being, Michael!" Isabel cried. "His daughter is in danger because of us, he deserves to know everything!"  
  
"Isabel's right, Michael. Lauren has become such a big part of Max and Liz's family already, it's only a matter of time before she learns the truth. If we can convince Kyle that you all aren't here to harm anyone, everything is okay right?" Maria piped up.  
  
"...Yeah, it would be good to have the law on our side, right Michael?" Alex asked.  
  
"You guys are wrong! We *are* harming someone--- Lauren! His daughter is in danger. If he finds out the truth about us and something terrible happens to her, he'll hand us straight over to the FBI." Michael cried.  
  
"No. Kyle isn't like that. Not anymore." Maria shook her head.  
  
"How the HELL do you know, Maria?" Michael replied.  
  
"Did you forget that Kyle was my stepbrother for a couple of years? Granted, our relationship broke down after our parents split up, but still-- - I know him better than you. He's a reasonable guy. He's grown up a lot since high school." Maria said firmly.  
  
"Still-- we've put his daughter in harm's way. He's going to have it out for us. I know if the tables were turned and Parker was the one being held right now, I would kill Kyle the first chance I got." Michael said.  
  
"That's why he deserves to know the truth." Maria said quietly.  
  
"We owe him that much." Isabel repeated.  
  
Michael sighed. "We'll tell him only what he needs to know--- that Tess has kidnapped his daughter and we're going to get her back."  
  
"He thinks that Tess is dead. Max and Liz told him so a few weeks ago." Maria replied.  
  
"Shit." Michael cried, knocking some items off the kitchen table.  
  
* * *  
  
Liz had a headache but she couldn't move her arms to rub her temples with her hands. Her eyes burned and her mouth was painfully dry. She opened her eyelids slowly, only to be met with a dim familiar light. It took her only a moment to realize where she was.  
  
The pod chamber.  
  
She tried to open her mouth to speak until she realized she was gagged. She looked down at her feet and hands and realized she was bound to a steel chair. As she looked across the dim green light of the chamber, another person in a steel chair came into view.  
  
It was Jordana! She tried to scream and wiggle her way over to her daughter, but she couldn't. Jordana noticed that her mother was awake and raised her head to meet her eyes.  
  
Mommy, don't move. She'll hurt you. Liz could hear her calling out to her in her mind. She cringed as she saw her daughter's eyes light up and she shook her head.  
  
I'm not letting her hurt you, angel. She managed to move her chair up next to Jordana's own when she heard a scream pierce through her ears.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Liz?" Tess cried, rushing in from another room in the chamber with Matthew and Dylan squirming in their arms. They began screaming when they saw their mother and sister again.  
  
Liz began screaming through her gag and moving around frantically in her chair. Tess chuckled, planting soft kisses on the babies' soft brown hair. "They really are beautiful twins, Liz. They look like spitting images of Max." Liz's eyes filled with angry tears as she watched her babies fidget in the other woman's arms. "I should have no problem raising them as my own. after I become the new Mrs. Evans, of course. People won't expect him to stay a widower forever."  
  
Liz cried out profusely, her muffled screams echoing off the chamber walls. She was bombarded with images of Max and Tess making love, Tess giving birth, and Max and Tess laughing and playing with Adam-Michael and the babies. Her distress was so great that she soon passed out with Jordana's silent cries piercing through her brain.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Lauren." Adam-Michael crawled over to the chair to which his girlfriend was bound. "Lauren, if you can hear me, wiggle your fingers. Don't move too much, I don't want her to see you." Adam grabbed her hand and felt no movement. She was still bound and gagged in the chair- she must have still been unconscious as well.  
  
"Adam, get over here now, son." Max whispered from across the secluded room. "She may come back in here any second." He motioned for Adam to come back to the side of the interior room where Tess had placed them.  
  
Adam silently placed a kiss on Lauren's forehead. "I'm sorry." He crawled back over towards the sound of his father's voice. It was nearly pitch black in the room. The only light inside was a hint of the green glow that emanated through the main part of the chamber, where Tess was holding his mother, sister, and brothers.  
  
"Dad, I'm scared. I've never been so scared in my life." Adam said as he felt his father's arm wrap around his shoulders.  
  
"Adam, your mother would never hurt you." Max said definitively. But she would definitely hurt my wife. Max thought silently. Adam understood the seriousness of this situation. Tess and Nasedo had injected them with some sort of serum that suppressed their powers. Max tried using his powers to make some sort of illumination in his hands like he was able to do the first time he met River Dog, but he was only able to make a very dim light.  
  
"Dad, what are we going to do?" Adam whispered into his shoulder.  
  
Max sighed. "Keep trying to contact someone--- anyone. Isabel will have realized that Jordana's gone by now. it's only a matter of time before they figure out where we are. Just try to stay calm, and keep the connection open."  
  
Adam nodded. Max was thankful that the dark was hiding his face from view---he couldn't stand for his son to see him cry.  
  
* * *  
  
"I knew I never should have let Lauren go out with that Evans kid. I always had my suspicions about you guys. especially how chummy my father was with you guys before he died. Now Lauren's been kidnapped by some psycho-alien who's come back from the grave to take back what's rightfully hers? I swear, if my kid doesn't make it out of this alive." Kyle began his rant from the back of Alex and Isabel's minivan.  
  
"Valenti, shut up! Isabel's trying to figure out where they are, and if we can get to them!" Michael turned around in the middle seat and growled at him.  
  
"Look, Guerin, don't tell me to shut up, okay? How in the hell can Isabel contact them if we don't even know where Tess has taken them?" Kyle cried. Maria turned around and calmly placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Kyle, it's one of her powers. She can go into people's dreams and figure out what they're thinking." Maria soothed.  
  
"All she has to do is touch a picture of the person who she wants to dreamwalk and if they're asleep, she can get into their dream." Alex said calmly as he pointed to Isabel, who was clutching a picture of Lauren that Kyle had given her and a family picture of the Evans taken last Christmas.  
  
"This isn't going to work, Alex. I can't fall asleep. I'm too nervous." Isabel said as they pulled into their driveway and Alex stopped the car. He grabbed her hand and kissed it, then turned back in the car to the distraught eyes of Michael, Maria, and Kyle.  
  
"We'll go inside and you will fall asleep. And one of them will give you a clue. And you will find them. And everything will be ok." Alex promised. Isabel managed to smile a little as they filed out of the van and back into the Whitmans' house.  
  
"So, how long is this going to take? We can't wait forever. What if Tess has already gone crazy and killed them all?" Kyle asked.  
  
Michael leaned forward to lunge at his neck. "Don't EVER say that! NEVER again." Maria jumped in between them and pulled them off each other.  
  
"Get the hell off me, man!" Kyle screamed.  
  
"Michael, stop it! He's just scared, okay? We all are. Why is this happening to Liz again? Why?" Maria's eyes began filling with angry tears as Michael put his arms around his wife. Kyle turned away to give them privacy during their tender moment. He walked into the Whitmans' living room and sank down on the couch, finally allowing himself to shed tears for his only child.  
  
* * *  
  
"Isabel, do you want me to sing to you? That usually helps you fall asleep, right?" Alex asked as he held his wife tightly in his arms. They were laying on their bed in their quiet room, trying desperately for Isabel to sleep. She nodded her head quietly and buried her face in his neck, shutting her eyes and sighing. She placed her hands on the pictures of Lauren and her brother's family.  
  
"Find me here, speak to me."  
  
Isabel felt herself falling as the room became dark.  
  
"I want to feel you, I need to hear you. You are the light that is leading me. to the place where I find peace again."  
  
Alex continued to sing as he felt her breathing slow and her body relax against him. "You are the strength that keeps me walking. You are the hope that keeps me trusting."  
  
As difficult as it had been for Isabel to fall asleep, Alex's singing of one of her favorite songs caused her to drift off immediately. She soon found herself inside someone's dream.  
  
"Hello?" She called out as she stumbled around, trying to regain her balance in this dream world. The person must have been drugged or unconscious- everything seemed so jumbled and fuzzy to her. Isabel's vision cleared and she could very distinctly see Lauren and Adam holding hands with their backs facing her.  
  
"Adam-Michael? Lauren? Where are you guys?" She could then make out what the twosome was so intensely staring at.  
  
It was the pod formation. Three were broken out and one was still in tact. She watched as Adam silently took Lauren's hand and placed it on the lone pod. Isabel didn't have to see who it was, she could sense that Lauren knew it was Tess's pod. Isabel's eardrums throbbed as an ear-piercing scream tore through the dream. She couldn't tell if it was Lauren's or her own. The lights around her went out and only the green glow of Tess's pod remained. In the light, she could see very clearly that Lauren had been bound and gagged to a chair, and Adam was begging her to squeeze his fingers. She then sensed Max's presence beside them. He was crying and hugging Adam-Michael.  
  
"Max!" Isabel sat up in bed screaming. Alex grabbed her to calm her down. She ripped the covers off her body and stood up like a rocket.  
  
"What? Isabel, did you get in?" Alex cried. "Are they alright?" Michael, Maria, and Kyle came running in the room from down the hall. Isabel's wide eyes mesmerized them all.  
  
"She's taken them to the pod chamber. We have to hurry." Isabel said firmly, dashing out of the room. The others wasted no time following her. 


	5. Chapter 13

Title: "Solace: The Sequel to 'The Language of Longing' " (13 of 14) Author: Meredith (roswelldreamer@aol.com) Category: M/L future Rating: PG-13/R (violence) Disclaimer: I don't own the original "Roswell" characters, but their kids belong to me. Backparts: The Language of Longing: Author's Note: In this part, "connection" conversations are designated with ** ** around them. -----------------  
**"Mommy? Mommy, wake up! Please, Mommy, I'm scared!** Jordana had her eyes shut tight as she tried to contact her mother silently. Liz was across the room from the child with her back to her. She was bound and tied to a chair and seemed to be unconscious. Jordana bit back tears as she saw Nasedo come back into the chamber with Dylan and Matthew in his arms.  
  
"Dammit, Tess, I can't control them. Here, you take them," he said, extending the squirming, crying boys into her arms. She took them gladly, holding them to her bosom.  
  
"Oh, shh, now, little ones..." Tess soothed as she walked them around the chamber, bouncing them gently. "That's a hungry cry. Adam-Michael used to make the same sounds when he was this age. That's when I knew it was time to breastfeed," she said as she settled herself on the floor of the chamber against a wall near the pods.  
  
"Tessa, surely you don't think you're going to breastfeed them, do you? That's impossible. Your body isn't capable of producing milk right now," Nasedo said, rolling his eyes. Tess chuckled.  
  
"You've *got* to be joking me. If I want my body to produce milk, it will. Watch," she said as she gently handed the twins back to Nasedo and cupped her breasts with her hands. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Soon, her breasts were swelling as they filled with milk. Nasedo smirked.  
  
"Well done, Tess. But will they eat it? You're not their mother," he commented as Tess unbuttoned her shirt and pushed down the cups of her bra. Jordana saw this from across the chamber and her eyes grew wide with horror. She *had* to reach her mother!  
  
"Of course they will. Babies are stupid, they don't know the difference," Tess said as Nasedo laid the twins in her arms. Jordana glared at her but kept her emotions in check. They still thought she was unconscious, so she couldn't make any noise or sudden movement. There was no telling what they would do to her.  
  
**"Mommy, please. You have to do something. The babies-- she has the babies! She's feeding Matty and Dylan! You know, *feeding* them, the way that only YOU are supposed to feed them! Mommy, you have to wake up and stop her!"** Jordana pleaded with her mother in her mind. She watched in shock as her mother's eyes began to flutter and her head began to move slightly. **"Mommy, no! Sit still! They'll see you!"** Liz raised her head up and locked eyes with her daughter.  
  
**"Oh, sweetie. She tied you up too? I'm so sorry. We'll get out of this, please don't worry."** Liz said as she lowered her head and shut her eyes.  
  
**"Mommy! You heard me!"**  
  
**"Of course I heard you, baby. I'll always hear you."** Liz said in her mind soothingly to her only daughter. She heard the babies crying and her heart clenched. **"Oh, God! What is she doing to them? They're crying!"**  
  
**"Mommy, don't look. It will only make you more upset---"** Jordana said pleadingly. Liz craned her head around slowly, trying desperately not to be seen by her captors. She cringed when she saw a barechested Tess clinging her sons to her bosom.  
  
She was trying to feed them! Tess was trying to feed HER babies! Liz's eyes stung with a bitter rage. She knew then what she had to do. She shut her eyes tight and reached out to her lover with her mind.  
  
**"Max. Please answer me. Are you all right?"** Liz called to him in her mind. When there was no answer, she pressed on. **"Max, sweetheart, please. Tess is in here, she's trying to feed Dylan and Matty. I have to get to them. Please, please help me!"**  
  
**"Liz! Oh, thank God, Liz! You're all right!"** She heard Max's strong voice singing in her ears. She bit her lip to control the urge to cry out in relief. Her husband was alive. He was okay...  
  
**"I'm okay, Jordana and I are okay for now. How are Adam and Lauren?"** Liz asked her husband with hope.  
  
Max paused before reaching out to her again. **"They're... stable. Tess must have not given Adam-Michael the serum to surpress his powers... he was able to dissolve the bands on Lauren's wrists and feet. She's sitting comfortably."**  
  
**"Oh, God! Please don't move her! Then Tess will know something's up!"** Liz cried in her mind. Her eyes squeezed shut with fear. Jordana noticed from across the room and could barely keep herself from crying out. Liz heard the sound of her babies screaming even louder behind her and her blood began to boil. **"Max, the boys! I have to get them away from her!"**  
  
**"God, Liz, I am so sorry... I'm sorry you have to see that,"** Max continued in his mind. **"Maybe I can distract her, get her away from them... I'll give myself up to her. Maybe then she will let you and the kids go!"**  
  
**"Max, NO! I will NOT let you do that! I'm not giving you to her that easily. She's going to have to kill me first!"** Liz screamed to him.  
  
Max's eyes watered as he rested his face in his hands in the chilling darkness. **"No, Liz, please. Don't say that. I would die without you."**  
  
**"And I would die *for* you. Any of you."** Liz whispered, her voice a strong vow to his mind and soul.  
  
**"Liz, I don't want this to seem---"**  
  
**"Final---"**  
  
**"Yeah. But if, I mean, in case something---"**  
  
**"Max, don't say it."**  
  
**"Liz, I love you. I will love you in heaven."**  
  
**"Max, stop it."**  
  
**Liz, I can't help it. I'm---scared. I really am. I don't have any of my powers, and who knows if Michael and Isabel were able to reach us. I haven't been able to make contact with either of them. This could be the--- "**  
  
**"No, Max, stop it!"**  
  
**"Liz, angel, please. I need to hear you say it."**  
  
**"Max, I love you. I love you, I love you. I love you so much."** She whispered with finality. He sent all his love and strength to her over their connection. Liz felt a warm sensation flooding through her body. It felt like a million fingers were dragging over her skin. She began mindlessly tugging at the ropes around her ankles.  
  
They dissolved at her feet.  
  
* * *  
  
Isabel and Michael crept slowly towards the entrance to the pod chamber with their spouses and Kyle following close behind them. Isabel turned to the four nervous faces around her and shut her eyes, sighing.  
  
"Okay,we're here. Before we go in, we need a plan," she began. Michael touched her shoulder.  
  
"You said before that it looked like Max, Adam, and Lauren were being held in a separate room away from Liz, Jordana, and the babies, right?" Michael asked her.  
  
"Yeah, Liz and the kids were in the pod chamber--- Lauren, Adam, and Max were in a dark room, separate from the pods," Isabel explained her vision.  
  
"What if one of us tries to go in and rationally talk to her? She and I were close at one point, maybe I could get through to her--" Kyle began, only to be interrupted by Isabel and Michael.  
  
"No, Kyle! You're not going to put yourself in danger anymore for us-- -" Michael began.  
  
"Like hell I won't! I don't give a damn about any of you, I just want my little girl back," Kyle said, his eyes blazing. "I'll do anything to help bring her home safe where she belongs."  
  
"Well, I'm going in there--" Alex began. Isabel touched his arm.  
  
"No, Alex-- I can't let you--"  
  
"Isabel, don't even try it! I'm not letting my wife go in there with a dangerous, known killer! I love you too much to abandon you at this point. I'm going." Alex said firmly, pushing her blonde hair behind her ears and kissing her forehead.  
  
"Ditto for me, spaceboy," Maria began, grabbing Michael's hand and squeezing it.  
  
"No way, Maria. Don't even think about it---" Michael began, interrupted by his frantic wife.  
  
"My best friends and my godchildren are in there and I'm GOING to be there with them! I'm not going to let the father of my children go in to meet his death willingly---" Maria ranted.  
  
"Maria, if we both die, Evan and Parker will be orphaned!" Michael pleaded with her, playing the abandonment card to play with her heartstrings.  
  
Maria shook her head fiercely. "No, I'm going in there. That's final." Michael sighed and began to speak but was interrupted by Alex.  
  
"Maybe it will be better for us to go in there. Maybe we can get Liz and the kids to a safer location while you, Max, and Michael go after Tess and Nasedo?" Alex suggested. Isabel shook her head furiously.  
  
"Alex, no, she's going to hurt you-- she'll do anything to get what she wants--" Isabel pleaded with her husband.  
  
"But I thought all she wanted was Max and Adam-Michael?" Kyle said.  
  
Michael glared at him. "You weren't around the first time this happened-- when Liz was pregnant with Jordana, the little bitch tried to--"  
  
Maria stopped him with a hand to his chest. "My husband is still a little shaken up over the whole incident, let me explain in simple terms. Tess found out that Liz was pregnant with Jordana and she flipped out. She basically tortured Liz's mind and then kidnapped her and tried to kill she and the baby."  
  
"She doesn't just want Max and Adam-Michael. She wants Liz and Liz's children... dead." Isabel finished the last word quietly. Kyle nodded in realization.  
  
"Oh my God--- all this time I thought she just wanted Evans..."  
  
"She wants him and she doesn't want anyone else to have him. She's one sick, sick bitch." Maria stated firmly.  
  
"Obviously. Now, what can we do?" Kyle asked. Before Michael and Isabel could answer, he spoke again. "Don't tell us that we're not going in there... because we are. My daughter's in there, and if something happens to her, I don't care if I die. My life isn't worth living anymore. Not without her." He choked back tears as he spoke about his only child. Maria grabbed Kyle's hand tightly.  
  
"We're all going," Maria said firmly. "They're our family, too."  
  
Michael and Isabel looked at each other painfully before finally nodding their heads. They just hoped they weren't leading three completely innocent people to their dooms.  
  
* * *  
  
Adam-Michael sat still against the side of the darkened cave's wall. He slowly reached out to grab Lauren's hand, which was now held loosely on the side of the chair. Adam had used his powers to dissolve the bands on her wrists and ankles. Adam bit his lip and closed his eyes as he remembered the words that Tess had told Nasedo right before Nasedo was going to inject him with the supression serum:  
  
"No. He's my little boy-- he'd never hurt me. Save it for the others..."  
  
Adam's heart twisted as he remembered. He knew Lauren's eyes were open, he could feel her staring at him in the pitch black. She was finally awake. "Dad," he whispered, nudging his father beside him.  
  
"Adam, please-- don't--" Max said, anticipating his son's question. "Don't move her--Tess will know--"  
  
"Adam, I'm scared--" Lauren sniffled. "Hold me, please," she whispered. Adam looked to his dad, seeing his form in the faint light coming from the other part of the chamber. Max looked to his son and to the girl in the chair. He knew she must be terrified, because he could feel his wife's own terror coming from the other room. His son had to comfort Lauren, just as he wished so desperately that he could hold his own love... he finally searched out his son's shoulder and patted it lightly, signaling his permission for Lauren to move.  
  
"Just please-- please be quiet," Max pleaded with them. Lauren quietly moved off the chair, nearly tripping over the ropes at her feet and falling into Adam's arms. Max gulped loudly, realizing that the noise may have alerted Tess to the change in the situation. The threesome sat still without so much as breathing for several moments until they realized that Tess nor Nasedo had heard a thing. Max pushed the nagging thought out of his mind that they were busy on the other people in his---  
  
No. He could still feel Liz, his daughter, and his sons. They were fine.  
  
Lauren climbed into Adam's lap and buried her face in his neck, her tears running down his skin and underneath his shirt. Adam soothed her hair with his hand and kissed her forehead. "We'll be okay," he whispered in her ear as quietly as he could manage. "I love you."  
  
Lauren hugged him tighter and whispered in his ear faintly. "I love you, too."  
  
They sat together, rocking quietly with their eyes closed, trying to chase away the mammoth amount of fear in their hearts. Suddenly, Adam felt a wave of power wash over him. His eyes flew open.  
  
"They're here," he said firmly, without a doubt. Max nodded to his son. He could feel them too. They'd heard them calling out for help.  
  
* * *  
  
Michael took one more look at his wife and grabbed her hand before Isabel opened up the cave door. Luckily, the pod chamber was large enough that the people inside couldn't hear the sound of the rock moving. He kissed Maria gently on the forehead and wiped one of the tears that was sliding down her cheeks.  
  
"I love you," he mouthed to her.  
  
"I love you," she mouthed back to him as the group silently watched Michael raise his hand around the corner, aiming it straight at Tess's pod.  
  
A chorus of screams erupted throughout the chamber as Tess's pod exploded into flames. Nasedo and Tess became distracted with the chaos that followed and Isabel and Michael ran up behind them, tackling them to the ground. While they took control of the captives in a fierce power struggle, Kyle and Maria rushed towards Liz and Jordana, pulling them back out of the cave to safety. Alex managed to grab the babies, who were lying on a blanket on the floor of the cave, and ran as fast as he could towards the exit.  
  
"Alex! Oh, my sweet babies!" Liz screamed, grabbing the twins and pulling them close to her. Jordana flew to her mother's side and squeezed her waist. "Oh my God! Max and Adam! Lauren! They're all still in there-- we have to get back--" She handed the babies to Maria and charged back towards the chamber. Kyle grabbed her arms, pulling her back to them.  
  
"No! Michael and Isabel are taking care of it. Believe me, I want to go back in there just as badly as you do--- but I know I will just screw things up. Please, Liz, don't get yourself killed!" Kyle cried.  
  
Liz began sobbing forcefully and collapsed into Alex's arms. "Alex, I can't lose him-- I can't."  
  
"Nothing's going to happen to Max, okay?" Alex asked. "He's still got his powers, right?"  
  
Liz looked at him, her bottom lip quivering. "No!"  
  
Alex, Kyle, and Maria looked at each other with fear, knowing that this battle had just gotten a hell of a lot harder.  
  
* * *  
  
"Michael! I can't hold her off anymore!" Isabel cried as she and Michael continued to press Tess and Nasedo into the floor of the cave with their powers. Michael was concentrating too hard to hear Max, Adam, and Lauren run into the other room.  
  
"Isabel! Michael!" Max screamed, running over to them.  
  
"Max, please! Help us! I can't keep this up for much longer!" Isabel cried, her voice strangled with the blast of power that Tess continued to shoot into her. Max looked at them, helpless. He shut his eyes and reached out in his mind.  
  
**"Liz, baby, please help me,"**  
  
**"Max? Max, are you okay?"**  
  
**"No... Isabel and Michael are trying to finish off Tess and Nasedo... I need your strength right now. Remember how I sent you my strength through our connection? I need you to do that for me now."**  
  
**"God, Max, I don't know if I can..."**  
  
**"Liz, please, I'm begging you to try. It's useless if I don't have my powers..."**  
  
Liz sighed and squeezed the baby more tightly in her arms, pouring her love and strength to her husband over the connection they shared. "**Max, we love you. We're all here, and we're all giving you are strength. Take care of our son and Kyle's daughter. Please. Take care of yourselves."**  
  
Max shut his eyes and smiled as he felt a warmth of power rush over him and he could see the tips of his fingers begin to glow. **"Thank you. My angel."**  
  
Liz's eyes filled with tears as she felt his power return back to her. He had them back. He was strong enough. They would be fine.  
  
"Adam! Take her and get out of here!" Max called behind him to his son. Adam wasted no time in pushing Lauren towards the exit of the chamber.  
  
"Dad, I'm not leaving you here! I'm helping! You need my power too!" Adam called as he hugged Lauren goodbye. Lauren's cheeks were streamed with tears as she felt Adam's lips touch her forehead. "I love you, Lauren."  
  
"Be careful, Adam. I love you too," she said, giving him a quick kiss and running into her father's waiting arms. Adam kissed his mother on the cheek and she gave him a look of concern.  
  
"Mom, they need me."  
  
"I know. Please be careful. I love you so much," Liz said, hugging him and kissing his cheek.  
  
"I love you too, Mom," Adam said, running back into the chamber. Max was busy trying to get Nasedo off Michael's weakening body, but no one was helping Isabel with Tess. "Aunt Isabel!" He screamed, running towards her and flanking her body with his. "Let my power flow through yours."  
  
"No, Adam, she's--- your mother---" Isabel choked out in pain.  
  
"No, she's not! Elizabeth Evans is my mother!" Adam cried, pressing a hand to Tess's head, feeling the images of his young life rush into his brain. He bit back his anger as they continued to fly towards him at lightning speed.  
  
"Adam-Michael--- you're---my---baby... Always--will--be!" Tess screamed, pushing both of them off her with a sudden explosion of power. Adam-Michael and Isabel moaned as they fell to the ground in a heap.  
  
"Adam! Isabel!" Max cried, running towards his family in a panic.  
  
"No, Max, no--- we're fine-- go back to Michael. He needs you." Isabel said as Adam helped her stand up. They faced Tess across the pod chamber. Adam-Michael stepped forward and used his body to shield his Aunt. Max then ran over to Michael and Nasedo, who were on the floor of the cave, a bright ball of power flowing between them.  
  
"Max-- Max-- I can't--" Michael croked out as the sweat poured down his face. Max quickly pressed his hand on the back of Nasedo's neck and shut his eyes tight.  
  
**"Liz, I need you."**  
  
**"I'm here,"** she said as she sent another burst of power through their connection. Max then felt the power shoot through his hand and into Nasedo's neck, stopping the blood flow to his brain. It only took a few moments before his body slumped over and then quickly disinegrated into a pile of dust on the floor. Michael and Max breathed heavily with exhaustion and hugged each other tightly with thanks. Their relief was broken the moment they heard Isabel scream from across the room.  
  
"Max! Michael!" she cried as Tess rose from the ground and began charging towards she and Adam-Michael. Max and Michael were on their feet as soon as they heard Isabel's plea for help, but were stopped in their tracks when they heard Adam's scream.  
  
"NO!" The boy screamed, raising his hand in front of him and concentrating as he felt a ball of energy build up inside him and create a fire ball exploding from his finger tips. His mother didn't even scream. She was knocked into a wall and slumped down to the ground, moaning the whole way.  
  
"Adam--" she cried out. "Adam-Michael, I'm your mother. I'm doing this for you," she pleaded with him, crawling on her hands and knees towards her son, Max, Michael, and Isabel. They continued to back away from her, afraid of what she'd do next.  
  
"No, Tess. You're not my mother. You may have given birth to me, but you're not my mother. You've done nothing but hurt my family, and I despise you," Adam said, angry tears streaming from his eyes.  
  
"Adam, no-- I did everything for us. You, your Dad, and I. We belong together. WE are your family," Tess moaned out as she got closer. "Not that bitch and her mutt children,"  
  
"NO!" Adam screamed as he charged her. Max held him back.  
  
"No, Adam-Michael, we can't get you involved in this," Max warned him.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do, Dad! I'm not going to let her hurt my family ever again! Just tell me what we need to do. You guys need my power too!" Adam pleaded with them. Isabel and Michael nodded sadly and Max finally set his jaw and motioned for them to form a circle around Tess. She was still slumped over on the ground in her weakened position. Michael, Isabel, Max, and Adam-Michael shut their eyes and squeezed each other's hands tightly. When Max nodded, they all sensed to concentrate on strengthening their power. As their bodies began to warm up and glow and the power whirled around them, Max screamed out.  
  
"Now!" He cried as they all released their energy at the same time into Tess. There was a scream and the cave went dark. The four aliens breathed heavily as they struggled to regain their power. As they opened their eyes they realized that Tess truly was gone. Because she had become a shapeshifter, she had turned into a pile of dust upon her death-- just like Nasedo had. Adam felt a slight pain in his heart and Isabel wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"You did what you had to do, Adam. Thank you for helping us," Michael said, touching Adam's shoulder.  
  
Adam was too shocked to speak. His father joined him in their embrace and they just held each other for a while.  
  
It was finally over.  
  
TBC (you know me, they always end on a happy note) ;) THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT FEEDBACK. Thanks for not giving up on me through this story. You guys are the absolute best Roswell fans in the world. Don't give up on Max and Liz, not ever... 


	6. Chapter 14 the end

Title: "Solace: The Sequel to 'The Language of Longing'" (14 of 14) Author: Meredith (roswelldreamer@aol.com) Category: M/L future Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell. Author's Note: This conclusion jumps ahead six years. Adam-Michael and Lauren are 22, Jordana is 16, and the twins are 6. Thanks to everyone for all the feedback on this story! Hopefully people are still reading it! This is the end! FINALLY! The "sappiness factor" in this part is about a 13 (on a scale of 1-10.) Just a warning. ;) Backparts: The Language of Longing: Solace: ---------------------------------  
  
~Epilogue~Six Years Later~  
  
7:19 AM T-minus 4 hours and 41 minutes The Evans' Home Roswell, New Mexico  
  
Max rolled over in his bed lazily, his mind helplessly wandering to the love he'd made there with his beautiful wife the night before. He rubbed his hand over her side of the bed absently, missing her body and her warmth.  
  
"Liz?" he called her name softly, the early morning light streaming in through the curtains. "Sweetheart?" He heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway and sensed she was coming towards him. She was wearing only one of his old white dress shirts that came down to her knees. In her hands were two mugs of coffee.  
  
"Good morning," she said softly to him, not wanting to wake their night owl daughter and twin boys. "I just thought I'd make some coffee for the father of the groom..." Max smiled with pride. His son had just graduated from college a few weeks before and now he was getting married.  
  
"I hope they wait a while to have kids. I'm too young to be a grandfather," Max groaned, patting his stomach gently. Liz leaned over and kissed his soft ear lobe.  
  
"Mmm, you're going to be one damn sexy grandpa," she cooed.  
  
"How about you, grandma?" he replied, sipping his coffee and putting it on the nightstand. He pulled her body back on top of his and relished in the feeling of closeness. Their mouths met quickly and they kissed each other slowly and softly as their bodies fought to be closer together.  
  
"Well, well, Dr. Evans. Are you ready for another go?" she teased him.  
  
"I'm ready if you are," he whispered onto her mouth before taking her lips again. Their rapture was interrupted by a dramatic sigh from the doorway.  
  
"Eww, gross. Do you guys ever take a break? You're like dogs in heat." Jordana groaned.Liz buried her face in Max's neck as they laughed.  
  
"Is everything okay, sweetie?" Liz asked her daughter.  
  
"Yeah, everything is fine. I was just wondering when I had to go pick up Michaela, Zach, and Ryan?" Jordana asked as she yawned.  
  
"Oh, Isabel's bringing them over at ten, I think," Max replied.  
  
"Yes!" Jordana said, turning back towards her room. "I'm going back to sleep for a while," she stopped herself and walked back towards her parents' room. "But... I'm locking this door first."  
  
Liz and Max looked at each other hotly. He weaved his hands in her long, silky brown hair and nibbled on her jawline. She sighed and buried her face in his neck once more.  
  
"So, Dr. Evans, where were we?" she asked, nibbling his earlobe.  
  
* * * 9:58 AM T-minus 2 hours and 2 minutes The Guerins' Home Roswell, New Mexico  
  
"Mommy, I need you," the distinctive Parker Marie Guerin whine floated through the house as Maria fixed her husband's tie. Michael smirked and pulled her hands off his shirt as she sighed.  
  
"It's okay, babe. We can fix this later. Go do her hair before she explodes," Michael said, walking back towards the living room as Maria started towards their daughter's room. Maria made it down the hall and smiled.  
  
"How does the dress look, sweetie?" She asked from Parker's doorway.  
  
"I look stupid, Mom," Parker said as she studied her reflection in the mirror. Maria shook her head and walked into her daughter's room.  
  
"No, you don't. You are the prettiest flower girl I've ever seen," Maria said, smiling at the little blond girl at her feet. Her baby was hardly a baby anymore, she was nine now, but she looked angelic in the lavender dress that came down to her ankles. "You're going to look even prettier when I put the flowers in your hair." Maria grabbed the brush and flowers from Parker's dresser and began putting her hair into a French braid.  
  
"Ouch, Mom, that hurts!" Parker cried as Maria tried to gently tug on her hair. Maria sighed and continued to try to shape the hair on the tiny head in her hands.  
  
"It wouldn't hurt if you stopped squirming," Maria said, pulling the rubber band off her wrist with her teeth as she finished the end of the braid. "There," she said, smiling. "All done."  
  
"Thanks, Mom," Parker said as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Where should the flowers go?" Maria picked them up from where they were resting on the bed. She tucked one stem into the back of Parker's braid and two on each side.  
  
"Perfect." She said sweetly. Parker turned around and kissed Maria's cheek. "Now, go find your Daddy, I want to get a picture of everyone dressed up before we go."  
  
"OK, Mom." Parker said, bouncing out of her room and down the hall. "DADDY!" She screamed. Maria winced, putting her fingers in her ears.  
  
"That child just cannot grasp the concept of 'inside voices'..." she muttered under her breath as she left her daughter's room to find the rest of her family.  
  
* * *  
  
10:35 AM T-Minus 1 hour and 25 minutes The Evans' Home Roswell, New Mexico  
  
Isabel, Alex, and their children filed out of their Land Rover and walked quickly into the two-story Southwestern-style home occupied by Isabel's brother, Max, and his family. Isabel was carrying a tray of food that would be part of the mountain of dishes for the reception, taking place at the home. Her nephew was marrying the love of his life today, and she couldn't be more happy for him.  
  
"We're here!" Alex called as he lead his children into the house and watched them scatter. Michaela walked up the stairs to Jordana's room, while twelve-year-old Zach and eight-year-old Ryan walked out to the backyard to see if they could find their other cousins. Isabel placed the tray of food in the refridgerator, having to shift a few things around to get it to fit. Liz, Maria, and both of Adam's grandmothers had cooked up a storm for the reception, and Isabel was getting hungry just looking at it all!  
  
Just then, Liz and Max came down the stairs, looking every bit the radiant couple. Alex smiled at them. "It's hard to believe you guys will probably be grandparents in a few years," he mused to them. Liz was wearing a knee-length lavender sundress with a white rose corsage pinned to her chest. Her hair was curled and pulled high up onto her head with tiny tendrils falling from either side. She looked radiant and not a day over thirty. Max was wearing a grey suit, a dark grey shirt, and a grey tie, taking advantage of the monochromatic look that was making a comeback. His hair was neatly slicked to the side and he grabbed his wife's hand eagerly as they made their way into the kitchen.  
  
"You both look beautiful," Isabel said, smiling. "Parents of the groom, can you believe it?"  
  
Liz shook her head, trying to hold back tears. Max chuckled and grabbed another tissue from the inside of his jacket. His wife had had four crying fits in the past hour and a half and she'd had to reapply her make up at least three different times. He'd learned his lesson and grabbed plenty of tissue for the ceremony. "Honey, are the boys still out back?" Liz asked him.  
  
Max walked over to the sliding glass door leading to the backyard and looked through it.  
  
Alex walked over to Liz and hugged her. "Ryan and Zach went out to play with Matt and Dylan," he replied. Max nodded as he saw his twin boys running around happily with their cousins in the back.  
  
Liz walked over to the door with fright. "Oh, I hope they don't get their clothes dirty! That would be terrible, they're the ring bearers, they have to look perfect!" she said, her lower lip quivering. Max laughed and took her into his arms.  
  
"Baby, remember? We can fix that," he said, pointing to the fabric in her dress and then moving it over to the white rose on her chest, changing the color to match the lavender perfectly. Liz smiled, burying her head in Max's chest.  
  
"How could I forget," she replied, leaning up to kiss him softly. Alex rolled his eyes and walked back over to his wife in the kitchen. She was watching the boys playing out of the window over the sink. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled and snuggled into his embrace.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked her.  
  
"Oh," she sighed. "Just watching our boys out there," she sniffled. "It seems like yesterday that we brought Ryan home from the hospital. Now he's already eight-years-old. I overheard he and Zach the other day, they were looking at one of Michaela's teen magazines and picking out all the 'hot' girls. He's eight, Alex! He's too young to be looking at girls," Isabel said.  
  
"Why not? I was eight the first time I saw you. I knew you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen in my life," Alex replied. She turned around in his arms and kissed him.  
  
"Good save, Mr. Whitman," Isabel joked, kissing his cheek.  
  
"You're worth it, Mrs. Whitman," Alex replied.  
  
* * *  
  
11:55 AM T-minus 5 minutes and counting St. Mark's Episcopal Church Roswell, New Mexico  
  
Liz opened the back door that lead into the chapel slightly, smiling as she saw the people that filled up both sides of the aisle, all here to see her son marry his soulmate. The pews were decorated with white and lavender flowers and the altar was decked out with the same two colors that the bride had chosen. She sighed. "Sometimes, I wish Max and I had gotten married in a church," she mused.  
  
Jordana smiled up at her Mom. "I was there when you guys were married, wasn't that enough?" Liz smiled and held her daughter in her arms, trying not to crush the lavender flowers she was holding in her hand. She was one of the bridesmaids for the ceremony that was about to begin.  
  
"Of course, sweetie," Liz replied, rocking Jordana in her arms. "You were the best wedding present anyone could have ever given us." Her daughter smiled.  
  
"Better than a toaster?" she replied.  
  
Liz tickled her side. "You're my silly one, aren't you?"  
  
"Of course I am. That's why you love me so much," Jordana replied.  
  
Liz sighed. "You look absolutely gorgeous. My baby is all grown up. You are so beautiful."  
  
Jordana blushed. "Mo-om," she whined. "You're embarrassing me!" Liz looked down at her with tears in her eyes. "Oh, no, don't you start crying again. Dad gave me strict instructions to make sure you don't cry back here." Liz smiled.  
  
"Oh, he did, did he?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. Just then, she saw Matty and Dylan run over to her from the front of the line (where they were waiting patiently with the flower girl, Parker Marie). They tugged on the bottom of their Mom's dress and smiled up at her, two front teeth missing in each boy's mouth.  
  
"Mama, Mama," they said in unison. "Daddy told us to make sure you don't cry!" Matt finished. Dylan nudged him to the side as their mother and sister watched them with curiosity.  
  
"Look, Mama," Dylan replied. "We're going to do our dance for you," The two boys looked at each other and linked arms, spinning around in circles for a while then stopping to look at each other and make a silly face.  
  
Liz clapped and bent down to hug her sons. "That was great. Mommy won't cry anymore, I promise," she said. "Now go on, you need to take your place at the front with Parker, okay?"  
  
"Okay, Mom," Matt said, grabbing his brother's hand and leading him back to the front.  
  
Just then, one of the church workers that was helping them with the ceremony breezed into the back room and walked over to the bride and the bride's father.  
  
"Five minutes people, everyone in their places so we can get ready to begin!" the old woman cried, slapping her hands together as they heard the organ music beginning to play.  
  
Kyle Valenti looked over at his daughter and smiled with pride. "I wish your mother could be here to see you today, pumpkin."  
  
"She's here, Dad. She always is." Lauren said quietly with a tear- filled smile. "I just want to say 'thank you', Daddy. Thank you for always being there for me, and for loving Adam-Michael as much as I love him."  
  
Kyle laughed. "I wouldn't say 'as much'," he retorted. "But I do care about him a lot. Like a son."  
  
"I know you had some bad history with Adam's family, but I'm just so greatful that you put your problems with them aside and learned to care for them." Lauren said thoughtfully, trying with some difficulty to keep her mascara from running down her cheeks. Thank goodness her maid of honor had gone out at the very last minute and picked up some of the waterproof kind.  
  
Kyle sighed. "I have grown to care for Max and Liz a lot, I respect them a lot more than I did in high school. They love their children and each other so much, they would die for them. I have to respect that-- because I feel the same way about you."  
  
"Daddy," she said, a tear escaping her eye. "I love you, Dad." she kissed his cheek.  
  
"I love you, too," Kyle said, trying to hold back the teares that threatened his eyes. He had to be strong for his daughter.  
  
Liz walked over to the two of them and gave Kyle a hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. "I could stand here and try to tell you how happy you've made my son and our family, but it would take way too long and I don't have that many tissues with me," she said shakily. "I can't wait to call you my daughter."  
  
Lauren bit back her tears and smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Evans," she said quietly.  
  
"Call me 'Mom'," she replied.  
  
Lauren gasped. "Okay, Mom." Liz squeezed Lauren's hand.  
  
"I'll see you out there, okay?" she said, smiling. She was being escorted out to the front pew by fourteen-year-old Evan Guerin, who was an usher. He and Adam-Michael were the closest boys in age in the family and they were very tight. Lauren nodded, smiling.  
  
Lauren looked up at her Dad again. "Dad, don't cry," she said. "I'm only moving a few blocks away."  
  
"I know, sweetie. I know," he said, wiping away happy tears for the first time since he could remember.  
  
* * *  
  
"Adam-Michael Parker Evans, do you take Lauren Michelle Valenti to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward? For richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; till death do you part?" the priest asked as he turned to Adam. Adam held Lauren's hands in his own. She smiled as she felt how shaky he was.  
  
"I- I do," he said, smiling down into Lauren's beautiful blue eyes.  
  
The priest nodded, turning to Lauren. "And do you, Lauren Michelle Valenti, take Adam-Michael Parker Evans to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward? For richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; till death do you part?" the priest asked her. She squeezed Adam's hands and sighed deeply.  
  
"I do," she said firmly.  
  
Max wrapped his arm around his wife as he watched his son answer to the same solemn vows he took when he and Liz were married sixteen years before. His greatest hope for his son was that he would still be as crazy in love with Lauren on their sixteenth anniversary as they are on their wedding day. He brushed at a stray piece of hair that had fallen across her face as her head rested on his shoulder. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and grabbed another tissue for his wife. She definitely needed it. To thank him, she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I am so in love with you," he whispered for only his wife to hear.  
  
"I am so hopelessly in love with you," she whispered back, setting her head back on his shoulder.  
  
"...by the power vested in me by God and the state of New Mexico, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the priest smiled, motioning to the new couple.  
  
Adam felt a surge of love rush from deep within him as he lifted Lauren's veil slowly to reveal her perfect pink lips. Everyone clapped as they melted into each other for their first kiss as husband and wife. Their parents cried and their family and friends cheered, but Adam-Michael and Lauren Evans didn't hear a thing. They only felt each other, they only needed their love.  
  
They were home.  
~The End~ 


End file.
